


Travels to Blue Roses

by einsKai



Series: Journeys to Fantasia [2]
Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Epilogue, Fairy!Banri, Fights, Fix-It of Sorts, Goddesses, Half Elf!Sougo, Hugs, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Loss of Limbs, Love Confessions, M/M, Monsters, Paralysis, Plant Magic, Racism, Reincarnation, Slave Trade, Sleepy Cuddles, Soulmates, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, Temple, Tragedy, Violence, Weredog!Tamaki, and now to the fun part, at least kind of, praise Tamaki 2k18, right I forgot the most important tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:49:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/einsKai/pseuds/einsKai
Summary: "Living was never an option for me, and living without you…"





	1. Travels to Blue Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my rather long TamaSou.
> 
> This is set in the same world as my previous work of this series, Lavellan to Cake, but it has a much darker tone, as you can see from the tags. So please, if you have a problem with any of the things mentioned in the tags, please don't read, or read with caution.
> 
> That being said... Sougo is my best i7 boy, I only like Gaku more.  
> Hurting him hurt me too.
> 
> I'm curious to hear what you think, so share your impression~

Sougo woke up in a dark room. It was shaking and rattling and Sougo could still hear the echoes of the screams of pain the wood it was made from had screamed when it had been killed. Its song was quiet now, the song of a dying plant.

It was a carriage, a newly built one, and Sougo had absolutely no memory of how he got here.

His left hand and one of his feet were cuffed by hard, cold metal. It felt rough and Sougo thought that he could feel bruises forming on his ankle and wrist.

A memory submerged from the depths of his conscious, a stranger inviting him to a drink in an inn, him revealing that he was like Sougo, that he understood his troubles and then – black nothingness. He must have drugged his drink, Sougo concluded, he probably wasn’t like Sougo at all, he only wanted to make him trust him…

He had been captured by slave traders, probably and Sougo briefly considered biting his own tongue, to avoid the fate of being sold to someone and having to spend the rest of his life in chains, when a growl interrupted his train of thought.

Someone, or something, was in the carriage with him, and he didn’t know if they were hostile. They didn’t sound friendly, judging by the sound they made.

When Sougo was thinking of a way to escape the wagon, flee from the creature and the slave traders, a voice sounded in the wagon. Its animalistic gruffness startled Sougo, but the words were kind.

“Are you awake now?”, the voice asked and two glowing eyes, bright blue in colour, appeared right in front of him. Those eyes, reflecting what little light there was in the carriage, weren’t those of a human and Sougo suspected the other person, he just assumed they were a person now, was a shapeshifter of some sort.

“I am”, he answered and accidentally made his chains rattle when he moved, to adjust his position, “Where are we?”

“Dunno”, the other said, “But they gave me something that makes me feel weird. I can’t transform right.”

So the slave traders drugged the shapeshifter too, Sougo thought.

“Shall we work together to break free?”, Sougo suggested then. Despite the deep voice, Sougo suspected a young person behind those eyes in the darkness. The voice could probably change if they weren’t in a state between human and beast, “A temporary alliance. What do you think?”

“Sounds good”, the shapeshifter said, “I’m Tamaki. What’s your name?”

“Sougo”, he answered, the familiar name unfamiliar to his tongue and ears. His name had never mattered, so why would it now? He needed to think of a way to get rid of these chains...

“Okay Sou-chan”, Tamaki said and Sougo felt a warmth flush his face because of this affectionate nickname, “I’m a weredog and I think these chains are like… keeping the dog in or something? If you can get me out of them, I can kick those kidnappers’ asses!”

How vulgar, Sougo thought. So, he was a weredog... Weredogs, unlike werewolves or shapeshifters, weren’t born as weredogs. They were usually cursed to change into dogs from time to time, without having any control about their transformation, but Sougo had read of cases where weredogs could also willingly change their form, like a shapeshifter. Maybe this weredog had been one his whole life, or just had a good teacher, so that he could control his transformation.

Sougo was still thinking about the weredog and the chains, when the wood around him caught his attention again. Wood screamed painful songs for nearly a decade after it was chopped, and this one’s screams were still strong. The wall that Sougo was chained to had been a young tree, not nearly as old as trees of its species could be, and its soul was still alive, calling out for something, anything, to liberate it from its misery.

Sougo could do that.

“Tamaki-kun”, he said, “I can open your chains, but you need to come closer to me. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”

“’kay”, the weredog answered and Sougo heard a rattling that suggested that there were a lot more chains holding Tamaki down than there were chains on Sougo. The slave traders probably thought of the weredog as the more dangerous one out of the two of them.

Sougo heard the clicking of claws on the wooden floor, almost right next to him and used his unchained right hand to reach into the direction where he suspected Tamaki to be. His fingertips brushed against fur, and the thin body part he had touched twitched.

“That tickles, Sou-chan”, Tamaki mumbled, “Don’t touch my ears.”

“I’m sorry”, Sougo said and tried again, until his fingers closed around the same cold metal he felt on his hands and wrist. Carefully he tugged at it, “Which chain is this?”

“Neck”, Tamaki said, “Say, Sou-chan, you smell familiar, have we met before?”

“Impossible”, Sougo said, “Don’t move, I will break the chain now. I can’t break it too close to your neck though, not when I can’t see.”

“You can’t see in the dark?”, Tamaki asked, “So you’re what, a human? You don’t seem like a human to me.”

Sougo didn’t answer the question but concentrated on the wood behind him. His left hand pressed again the wall, he called upon the soul of the tree, that was screaming in agony about losing its life, and promised healing, promised it that everything would be alright, if it just put all power into this purpose. Sougo began humming along with the melody the tree was singing.  
Of course the tree complied, they weren’t complicated spirits after all. Sougo had never met a tree who didn’t meet his sung or hummed demands.

A single tree branch grew from the seemingly dead wood and Sougo could hear the happy song that this new branch, offspring of the dead tree, sang. It was young, and fresh and strong – exactly what Sougo needed. He changed his tune to the one of the new branch.

The branch danced around in the air, until Sougo commended it to find his right hand. The wooden branch wrapped around the chain underneath and grew drastically. With a loud _pang_ the chain burst and fell to the floor.

“Woah”, Tamaki gasped, “How did you do that? You’re definitely not a human. Humans can’t do stuff like this. I’ve never seen a tree do that. Cool!”

“Silent, or they might hear us”, Sougo whispered and found a different chain that wasn’t his, “Where is this one?”

“Right leg”, was the answer and Sougo continued, freed Tamaki’s right leg and left leg, and his arms. Both arms were fully transformed into those of a dog, hopelessly useless in a situation where fingers were the most important tool.

The more chains Sougo removed the lighter Tamaki’s voice grew, and now that the chains were gone the weredog moved away from Sougo again. Unlike with other people, he hadn’t minded the close proximity to him that much, which surprised Sougo. Usually he would have felt an unstoppable desire to keep him at least two armlengths away. Maybe it was because of the dog-like aura Tamaki had, or the stressful situation they were currently in, but Sougo felt like he could tolerate Tamaki for the time being.

“Amazing Sou-chan, I’m really free again!”, Tamaki said, “Now free yourself and then we can get out of here!”

“Patience”, Sougo said, “There might be an opportunity coming for us and we could fail if we don’t wait for it.”

“I’m not good with waiting though…”

The pouty voice of the weredog was cute, Sougo thought. Without his transformation halfway in progress, his voice was higher than before, and Sougo found himself wondering how old this voice was – he sounded so young.

“While we wait and I undo my bindings, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”, Sougo asked, “You’re a weredog, right? How come?”

“Oh yeah, I get that a lot. My mom was a witch and she gave the power to me when we had to leave our old place. She took Aya, because she was still small, but I couldn’t be hidden so she turned me into a dog.”

Sougo heard the _snap_ of the chain at his foot and felt blood finally being able to course through his leg when he moved it out of the uncomfortable position it had been in previously. Only his hand left.

“So you had to leave? Why?”

“My dad”, was the rather short answer, but Sougo felt the resentment that Tamaki felt for that person he called “Dad”.

Sougo understood completely.

Just when he snapped the chain on his hand, he felt the carriage stop abruptly. Loud voices from outside could be heard.

“The capital finished the council off!”

“All of them?!”

“Yes, those two famous knights, you know, that big name team, they kidnapped one of our assassins and forced him to give them information.”

“So we’re done for?”

“Who knows how much information they got. We should run while we can!”

“What about the slaves?”

“Who gives a shit about the slaves? If we leave them here they’ll just starve in their carriage, nobody uses this road anyway. Let’s just go!”

Hurried steps from outside, then silence.

“Are they… gone?”, Tamaki asked, his voice hopeful.

“I think so”, Sougo said, “What amazing luck. Can you open the door?”

The noise of hands on wood and the sounds of the leftovers of the chains indicated, that Tamaki was crawling over to the side of the wagon where the door was.

Light flooded the inside, and after being blinded for a few seconds, Sougo was able to see Tamaki for the first time.

The first thing Sougo noticed was how tall Tamaki was. Sougo had never been the tallest person in his village, since it was full of elves, who were naturally taller than the average human, and he had trained to look as small as possible, because that would bring him the least consequences, but Tamaki easily towered over a good half of the people in his village. His limbs were long, looking longer than they should be, and Sougo questioned if Tamaki was still growing.  
Long, light blue hair. It wasn’t the longest that Sougo had ever seen, it wasn’t even as long as his own hair and most people in his village had worn their hair long, but since he had left most men had worn their hair short. Not that he had met many, because he tried to avoid contact with humans, who were sadly very prevalent on the route he had to take.  
He was wearing pants that didn’t cover his whole legs, as if they had grown too small for him, and his exposed calves were full of half healed cuts and bruises. He must have been wandering through the wild a lot, Sougo thought.  
The vest and shirt Tamaki wore looked worn, but fit him more than his pants did.  
Sougo was sure that Tamaki was younger than him now, because his face looked so young, much younger than Sougo had hoped, for someone who had to flee from his own father and was roaming places, where he could be caught by slave traders. Also the boy was bearing a curse given to him by his own mother. Nobody this young deserved things like this happening to them. Actually nobody deserved any of these things, no matter their age.  
But the eyes that looked at him with an expression of utmost admiration, awestruck, like he had just seen the most beautiful creature on earth, were captivating.

“Sou-chan”, the weredog mumbled, “You’re an elf?”

“No”, Sougo said and took his hat, that he had been wearing before he had been caught, from the floor of the carriage. Luckily the traders hadn’t thrown any of his clothing or his equipment away.

The deserted carriage of three wagons without horses was scary. It looked like it had been moved with magic, so that explained why there hadn’t been any noises of horses, or hooves and not that many people. If they had a powerful magician with them it would be enough to transport the cargo safely. The other wagons didn’t seem to have any other people inside.

“Hey Sou-chan, what will you do now? Let me come with you!”, Tamaki said, “I like you, so let’s work together.”

Sougo stopped his examination of the equipment bag that he had found in the front of the carriage.

“Absolutely not”, he said then, and shouldered his bag, “Don’t you have anywhere to be? With your mother and sister?”

Sougo got up and walked into the direction he thought to be north. He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious and moving, so his next plan was to find people, hopefully another traveller who wouldn’t ask too many questions, and ask for directions to his destination.

Tamaki followed him. “I don’t have anywhere to go! Mom and Aya were taken in by a coven, but I don’t count there and that’s why I’m here. I’m not mad at them though, I’m glad that they’re safe… You know, Sou-chan, I really feel like I know you already. Let’s be friends and travel together!”

“Would you stop calling me that?!”, Sougo turned around and glared at Tamaki. The weredog winced and flinched back, like he had been kicked, “And stop following me immediately. You’re going to turn attention to me if you continue like this!”

Tamaki pouted dejectedly. “You’re mean, Sou-chan”, he said with a sad tone and disappeared between the trees.

Sougo felt relieved. The weredog would be better off without following him, he justified his behaviour. He couldn’t let anyone get close to him, not even someone who felt familiar and comfortable to be around, for whatever reason that was. He couldn’t let himself get distracted. He had a mission to fulfil.

Finally he was alone again, like he was used to. Comfortably the songs of the trees and other plants around him engulfed him, and he began walking north.

After a few hours of walking the edge of the forest came into sight, and Sougo saw fields and light in the distance. A small village, like many existed in the area he had his last memories in. He couldn’t have strayed from his path too much then, he concluded. With a look at the darkening sky Sougo decided to set up camp for the night.

With the flintstone he made a small fire to warm himself at least a little, the nights could get cold in this area, and got some tools from his collection of useful items the elves had given him, to make sure he could complete his mission, to open the cuffs that were still around his wrist and ankle.

It was surprisingly easy to bust the locks, and Sougo hoped that Tamaki had been able to get rid of his cuffs by now as well.

Quickly he shook his head, to get rid of the thought. He was not out here to make friends, he had his mission and he was going to complete it. He just had to get there as quickly as possible.

With those thoughts being the last he consciously remembered, Sougo fell asleep.

 

_“This is your purpose”, Sougo’s father said, “This is the only reason you are alive and if you cannot complete this mission then you are even more worthless than I thought.”_

_The elven king had demanded his son to kneel before him and was now stepping closer. Sougo didn’t dare look up and was staring at the green garments his father was wearing._

_“We have given you all the education you need to find the temple.”_

_The naked feet of the elven king stepped on the fingers of Sougo’s hand that was touching the ground. The pain felt far away and too close at the same time, Sougo was used to the physical abuse of his father by now, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt anymore._

_He probably deserved being hurt by his father. He wasn’t worthy of touching the ground he walked on._

_“Do not disappoint me.”_

_A heavy weight pressed down onto Sougo’s chest, and it was preventing him from speaking, preventing him from moving, preventing him from breathing, Sougo was suffocating-_

Sougo startled awake to something laying on his chest.

Panicking Sougo shoved at it, felt warm fur and a long snout. A big dog-head was there, on top of his chest, and the dog was wearing an iron collar, along with iron cuffs on his legs. Immediately upon realising _what_ was laying on his chest Sougo felt strange relief wash over him, directly followed by anger. It felt misdirected, as if it shouldn’t be aimed at the dog, but at himself, for not being more strict with him, that he should have _known_ that Tamaki wouldn’t listen to him.

“Tamaki-kun”, Sougo hissed, “Tamaki-kun, I told you not to follow me!”

He rolled away from the dog, that was snoring softly. A look at the sky told him that he had slept longer than it had felt. Morning would be here shortly.  
How long had the dog cuddled with him? How long had he slept with Tamaki comfortably resting on his chest?

“Wake up!”, Sougo shook the dog’s body, to wake him up, “Tamaki-kun, wake up right now, or I will tie your tail to a knot!”

Finally the weredog moved and opened one eye lazily. He transformed back into a human and got up from his position on the floor. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes.

“Gee, Sou-chan, you’re so noisy”, the boy said, “Why can’t you let me sleep?”

“Why can’t I let you sleep? Because I told you not to follow me and you still did!”, Sougo was mad now, still not sure at _what_ , “Listen, I don’t have time to babysit you! I have a mission to fulfil, and I can only do this alone.”

Tamaki looked to the floor, like he was thinking.

“So, you have a mission you gotta fulfil?”

“Yes. Alone.”

“Where?”

“In a temple.”

“Where is that temple?”

“It should be in the northern direction, but since I don’t exactly know where we are at the moment I don’t know how far away it is.”

“So how long will it take you to go there?”

“A week, or two weeks, maybe. Depending on how well I find the way.”

“So, if I let you do the mission on your own then I can come with you for the rest of the way? And I can stay with you after you complete your mission too!”, Tamaki looked satisfied with this solution, but Sougo disagreed.

“Absolutely not. You can’t come with me and even if I let you travel with me, which I’m not doing, there is no way that you could stay with me after my mission is completed”, Sougo said, “Come on, find somewhere nice to live. You’re young and I bet there’s people out there for you. Go find a job and meet a pretty girl and have a bunch of kids with her.”

Sougo felt something tug in his chest at these words, an emotion so far away that he couldn’t name it. He had never felt it before either. Was that… jealousy?

“That’s not what I want at all”, Tamaki pouted, “Like I said, I like Sou-chan and I want to stay with him!”

“Stop calling me that already!”, Sougo said. He was frustrated now, both at Tamaki and at himself, “And what is there about me that you could like? It’s not like you know me!”

“But I do know you!”

“You don’t! We met yesterday, you barely know my name!”

A frustrated growl and Tamaki shut up. Dejectedly he curled up, back turned towards Sougo.

“Dumb Sou-chan…”, he mumbled, “You don’t get it at all…”

Sougo _did_ get where Tamaki was coming from and that was what scared him the most. He was close to letting Tamaki come with him, but… he couldn’t. The weredog was too attached to him already, after only a few hours of knowing him. What dimensions would these feelings reach if they travelled together for a week or longer?

Sougo began covering the traces that he had been here, the campfire, the place where he (and by addition, Tamaki) had slept and everything else. Then he shouldered his bag again and began walking away from the camp and the still sulking weredog.

“Wait Sou-chan, where are you going?”, Tamaki called after him after a few minutes and came running after him. Sougo rolled his eyes.

“I’m going. Without you. And if you follow me any longer, I will use other methods than words to get rid of you for good.”

The expression on his face seemed to have worked, because Tamaki flinched back.

“If you don’t want me following you then at least help me get rid of the chains. I can’t do it myself and it’s not like I have money or anything”, Tamaki tried not to make eye contact with him.

“Fine”, Sougo sighed and set down his equipment bag again, “But after that you’ll go away.”

Tamaki grumbled discontentedly but nodded.

Sougo started working at Tamaki’s feet at first. He noticed that the shoes he was wearing also seemed to be worn and old. The leather was thin in multiple places and the left shoe had a makeshift patch on it already, because a hole had already formed.

After Sougo had removed both the cuffs from Tamaki’s ankles he moved on to his hands. Just like the rest of Tamaki, his hands and fingers were very long, and Sougo thought, that those hands could be very beautiful hands, if they were taken care of. But the nails were broken and chewed on, the hands themselves dirty and full of half healed cuts, like his legs. Did he try to catch a thorn gnome with his bare hands?

Lastly the metal collar came off. Tamaki breathed in relief, when he heard the tell-tale _click_ of the lock opening.

“Thanks, Sou-chan”, he said and moved forward, so that their noses were almost brushing. Sougo jerked back at that invasion of personal space.

The foreign breath ghosting over the skin of his neck was unpleasantly reminding him of his father. When he hadn’t immediately memorised something from his teachings, his father would come just as close, so close, and it would hurt, it would hurt, hurt, _hurt_ …!

“What do you think you’re doing?!”, Sougo said and shoved Tamaki away.

The other pouted again: “I was saying thank you, but Sou-chan wouldn’t let me hug him.”

“Of course I wouldn’t. I don’t want to be hugged by a stranger”, Sougo stood up and dusted his clothes off. Maybe his reaction had been a little too harsh, but he couldn’t get rid of the ghosts of his past that easily after all. Just when he had thought that he had found someone he was comfortable around, “Well, now that I helped you, leave me alone. I hope I never see you again. Have a good life.”

Sougo walked away from Tamaki, without looking back.

 

He reached the village, now surrounded by the lighter voices of grass and crops, he had spotted the evening before around noon. A group of kids playing on the sole street of the village saw him and went into hiding in the shadow of the bakery, even though Sougo had tried to smile at them. It didn’t seem to have worked.

A farmer who was driving some sheep through the street a minute later eyed Sougo as if he suspected him to plan to steal one of the sheep. He still stopped when Sougo talked to him.

“Excuse me”, Sougo said, “I lost my way in the woods and don’t know where I am. Could you tell me which village this is?”

“Millhame”, the farmer grunted and when Sougo’s face stayed as confused as it had been before, he continued, “You’ll get to a bigger village when you follow the north-western road. If you hurry you can get there today.”

It was obvious that the man wanted Sougo to leave as fast as possible. Not that Sougo could complain, if he met someone like him he would try to get rid of them as quickly as possible too.

“Thank you”, he said and stepped aside to wait until the sheep and the farmer passed him.

The sheep avoided him, as if he was giving out an evil aura. Maybe it was the smell of weredog that still resided in his clothes. Maybe it was just him though.

 

Sougo followed the road the farmer had pointed him to. It led towards a different part of the same forest he had come from. Well, this area was mostly covered by that forest, but still, Sougo didn’t feel good with the thought of having to walk through it again. The trees were already used to his presence, information travelling as fast as sound with their singing, and Sougo didn’t want to grow accustomed to anything. Attachment would only bring pain.

After walking for a while and trying to recall all the maps he had to learn by heart for this mission, trying to pinpoint where he was, he caught his own thoughts wandering to the weredog.

What was Tamaki doing now?

Was he still striving through the forests, in search of company? Was he still where Sougo had left him? Had he maybe already found someone else, who could take good care of him?

He had heard of stories, where weredogs had just stayed as dogs for their entire lives. Maybe Tamaki would find a nice hunter or someone else, whom he could be useful to and stay with them.

 _I like Sou-chan_ , he heard the weredog’s voice echo in his head, _I feel like I know you_.

Sougo had never left his village before he had started his travels for this mission. He hadn’t been allowed to go, having spent most of his time in a tiny cell in the roots of the king’s tree in centre of the village. And Sougo also knew that there had never been a single weredog, or another not-elf at his village, at least nobody from another species had left it alive.

It was impossible for Tamaki to know him, or for Sougo to know Tamaki, but for some reason Sougo couldn’t forget how honest he had sounded. Tamaki had really meant it, when he said that he felt like he knew Sougo. And Sougo had to admit, he also didn’t feel like he had met Tamaki yesterday. It was an uncertain, unclear hunch, but Sougo understood that feeling that Tamaki had worded so simply.

_I feel like I know you._

 

Sougo didn’t make it to that bigger village on that day. Instead he decided to walk during the evening and night. He would rest from midnight until the early hours of the morning and continue his travels.

At least that was his plan, until someone stumbled out of the bushes next to the road and crashed into him.

Sougo screamed in shock and pulled the dagger he had on him from the hidden sheath on his leg, when he noticed light blue hair and a smile as bright as the sun: “Sou-chan!”

“Tamaki-kun”, Sougo sighed, wanting to feel irritated, but somehow he felt an odd sense of comfort in presence of the weredog, “It seems I can’t get rid of you, can I?”

He was lying under Tamaki, the other sprawled out on top of him. He had jumped him, when he spotted him, just like he had seen his father’s hound, a Cerberus, do when his father came home one time.

“Nope!”, Tamaki said, “Let’s spend the night together Sou-chan. I caught some partridges, we can make a fire and cook them.”

Sougo sighed and turned his head to the side to hide a blush that had crept onto his cheeks.

“Fine, but please get off of me”, he said, “If I give you the tools, can you make a fire? I will prepare the birds.”

The weight on his chest disappeared and Sougo sat up. He sheathed the dagger again and gave Tamaki his flintstone and steel. He also had some dried moss and sent Tamaki to collect dry branches from the trees around them.

Tamaki tossed him something, and Sougo caught the headless corpses of the small birds. They were both decapitated, but otherwise completely intact.

Sougo had already prepared food for himself, but it had never been an animal that, if not for missing a vital part of its body, looked like it could stand up and run away at any given moment. Luckily he had read countless books on the dissecting of all kinds of species, so he easily managed to do it to these specimen.

When Tamaki came back with wood that would be enough for a bonfire, Sougo had neatly skewered the pieces of meat on a few straight branches he had cleaned beforehand.

“We don’t need that much firewood”, Sougo said, “A small fire will suffice.”

“’kay”, Tamaki said and dumped his whole collection on the floor, “I won’t use the big ones then.”

In silence Sougo prepared the meat with some of the spices he had brought with him, left half of it untouched by the strong spices though, since he didn’t know how well Tamaki reacted to strong spices. A few herbs for the finishing touch – it wasn’t a meal one could serve a king, but Sougo was looking forward to eating it.

Next to him Tamaki started the fire and after about half an hour it burned strongly enough to start cooking.

Bot the weredog and Sougo held one of the skewers over the fire and waited, turning them occasionally.

“Say, Tamaki-kun”, Sougo asked, when the silence grew too heavy for him to bear – it was unusual for Sougo to mind the quiet, he did spend most of his life in absolute silence, without anyone to talk to, but with Tamaki a lot of things felt different for him, “Where did you learn to hunt?”

Tamaki stretched a little and let the dry leaves he was playing with fall to the floor again.

“I lived with a pack of werewolves until recently, they taught me how to do lots of things. I can fish and run very fast and I know what plant to eat when my stomach hurts”, Tamaki looked like he was very fond of that pack. Sougo wondered.

“Why aren’t you with them anymore?”, Sougo tested the meat, but it wasn’t ready yet.

“They bickered and argued and ran away one after another. Some wanted to try living as humans”, Tamaki answered, his brows furrowed a little, “So I ran away too… then I was caught and met you.”

Sougo went silent at that. Tamaki’s past seemed troubled and full of betrayals. There was something about his father that had driven his mother and sister, at least Sougo believed that Aya person to be Tamaki’s sister, and him out of their previous home, his own mother had cursed him into a weredog, only for him to be rejected by a coven of witches. Then the pack he had been living with had disbanded… He felt bad for the other.

“Oh Sou-chan, look”, Tamaki interrupted his thoughts, “The meat is ready!”

He was right and Sougo quickly pulled his hand back, so the precious food wouldn’t get burned. He tired to immediately take a bite, like the weredog next to him, who was already eating his second piece of meat, but it was too hot for him, so he waited a little.

Finally it had cooled down a little and Sougo took a bite.

It was the most amazing thing he had ever eaten in his life.

The taste was rich and just spicy enough for him, the meat practically melting in his mouth, and Sougo really, honestly had never eaten anything like it.

“Sou-chan, are you okay? Is it no good?”

Sougo looked at Tamaki through tears. They had filled his eyes without his volition and Sougo felt the tears trickle down his cheeks, pooling at his chin and dropping onto his clothes.  
Despite the tears he felt his facial muscles that he never used much before, turn into a smile, so wide that it hurt.

“Really Sou-chan, you’re creeping me out… Say something”, Tamaki had come closer again, his own meat forgotten where he had stuck the skewer into the ground. He was kneeling in front of Sougo and looked into his eyes, contemplating whether or not he could wipe his tears away.

“It’s the best thing I have ever had”, Sougo whispered then, still not stopping the crying, but taking another bite, “It’s delicious.”

While Sougo tried not to gobble up all the meat in one go, Tamaki backed off again.

“No offense Sou-chan”, he said, “But what kind of food have you been eating? Like, this isn’t bad or anything, but there’s like a billion other foods that are way better.”

Sougo didn’t pay the other any mind, not stopping to eat, until his skewer and the bones wwere completely free of any meat. He leaned back, the tears had stopped, but the smile had stayed. The bits of the sky that he could spot through the trees were partly obscured by clouds, but on the black night sky behind the clouds Sougo saw a lot of stars.

Never before had Sougo thought of stars, or clouds, or relaxing for a moment, taking a deep breath and just not doing anything for a moment. It felt good, and Sougo was surprised that he could even feel something as simple as this. Feeling good had never been one of the things he expected out of life.

Something nudged his shoulder and Sougo turned around to see Tamaki offering him his own skewer. Three pieces of meat were left on it.

“You can have mine too”, Tamaki said.

“Why?”, Sougo asked, “I bet you’re hungry too.”

“Yeah”, Tamaki said, “But Sou-chan is smiling because of the meat. I want to see more of that smile, so if meat makes you smile I’ll give you all the meat in the world.”

Sougo felt his cheeks heat up and shook his head. “No, eat it yourself. I had enough. Eat, you’re still growing, aren’t you, Tamaki-kun?”

Tamaki shrugged: “If you really don’t want it I’m not complaining.”

They went quiet for a while, Tamaki eating his food and Sougo looking up at the night sky.

“Now tell me, Sou-chan”, the weredog demanded after a while, “Why haven’t you eaten more delicious food before? Your clothes look like they’re good and were expensive, so how has someone rich never eaten better?”

“I’m not rich”, Sougo sighed, “I’m on a mission, did you forget? I was sent here by an elven village in the South-Eastern realms and they gave me this equipment.”

“You’re sent by an elven village?”, Tamaki said, “So you’re an elf after all. Can I see your ears? I’ve never seen one before.”

“I’m not an elf”, Sougo said, tugging on his hat self-consciously, “I’m a half-elf, a worthless, weaker version-”

“Worthless? Why?”

“I only have a fraction of the power pure-blooded elves have and my life expectancy is considerably shorter than that of pure-blooded elves”, Sougo said.

“And how does that make you worthless? You can’t help that you were born this way, right?”

“You don’t understand, Tamaki-kun. I’m a half-blood. I don’t belong anywhere, not in the elven world and not in the human world. This is why I was chosen for this mission. I was born this way. It is my only chance to be useful.”

Tamaki dug his fingers into the ground. He was angry, Sougo felt it. But the anger wasn’t directed at him.

“Did they tell you all of this in the elven village? Is that the reason why you didn’t know good food so far? Didn’t they feed you right?”, Tamaki shook with rage, “Sou-chan, you’re not worthless or anything like that. I don’t know what your mission is, but I’ll come with you and after you finish it I’ll follow you back. I’ll tell those stupid elves that you’re not worthless at all! I’ll protect you, Sou-chan.”

Determinedly Tamaki stared at Sougo.

“…Thank you”, Sougo said. He decided to stop questioning Tamaki’s strange habit of talking like he had known him for years. He felt the same after all.

“So you’ll let me come with you?”

“It’s not like I can control you, can I?”, Sougo said, but to his own surprise there was no malice in his voice.

Tamaki smiled and opened his arms: “Can I hug you, Sou-chan?”

Sougo shook his head. “I don’t want to.”

“Can’t be helped then…”, Tamaki said and got up. He stretched and yawned, transformed into the dog form and flopped over on the floor next to Sougo.

Soon the dog began to breathe in deep, even breaths and Sougo felt soothed by the noise.  
Carefully he reached out and ruffled the dog’s fur. It was soft and Sougo liked the feeling. Tamaki’s chest rose and fell in a regular pattern as well.

Sougo felt like the weredog was a fraction of the life that he himself had never had. A free spirit, roaming the world, so alive, so free.  
He wished he had this liberty.

Staring at that blue fur Sougo fell asleep, the first peaceful sleep he had in years.

 

The next morning they started travelling.

Sougo noticed that travelling with Tamaki was comfortable. They walked in silence, Tamaki in his dog form, always walking ahead a little, his tail wagging when he saw something he liked, like a butterfly, or a herd of cows in the distance. Sougo followed him, taking care to not leave the road or lose their way, but Tamaki was a pretty good guide.

After a few hours they came into the bigger village that the farmer in the smaller village before had told him about.

“Tamaki-kun”, Sougo said and the dog stopped, turned around to him and looked at him, with those intelligent eyes that were almost human, “We’re going inside the village now. I will stock up on supplies, since I almost used up all of mine and we still have a long way to go. You stay outside of shops and always in the dog form, alright? Don’t let it show that you’re not a real dog, the people here might not take kindly to non-humans.”

The dog nodded and wagged its tail, so Sougo assumed that he had understood.

Walking along the streets he found a shop that sold exactly what he needed and went inside. Maybe he could get some information about the village too, so he could localize where they were.

Looking at the wares in the shop he chatted up the cashier and actually found out where on the map he was. His course wasn’t too far off, some adjustments would be necessary so he could reach the destination he was looking for, but it would work out. Maybe he wouldn’t arrive at the estimated date, but with a ritual that only had to be repeated every thousand years that wasn’t a problem.

He stepped outside of the store to find a group of young men surrounding Tamaki. Like he had told him he had stayed in his dog form and Sougo felt a certain ride well up inside of him. Still, those men didn’t look friendly, and Tamaki had taken a defensive position.

“Excuse me”, Sougo said from behind the group, which caused them to turn their heads towards him, “What are you doing with my dog?”

“This is your dog?”, one of them spat, “Its making our cattle uncomfortable. Put it on a leash or something.”

“I will not”, Sougo said, “He can perfectly behave himself and we will leave the village in a minute, so there is no need to.”

“Oh really”, one of the men said and took a step towards him, “You know, we don’t like outsiders here. Maybe you should just suck it up and put your damn dog on a leash, like normal people would.”

He pushed Sougo into the wall of the house he was standing in front of and Sougo could smell his breath for a second. It reeked of alcohol and Sougo understood. There were no cattle that was uncomfortable, these guys were only trying to pick a fight.

“I am terribly sorry”, he said, “We will take our leave now. Tamaki-kun, come.”

The dog, who had begun to growl gave up his hostile position and followed him, to stand at his side.

The men didn’t give up though.

“Wait a minute”, one of them said and tried to keep hold of Sougo. In his drunk stumble he was not capable of doing so and almost fell when Sougo evaded with a swift step, but he managed to knock Sougo’s hat off his head.

Silence on the street, until one of them began to scream: “An elf! There’s an elf here!”

Sougo swallowed hard. This was exactly the kind of situation that he had wanted to avoid. Tamaki next to him tensed.

When Sougo bowed down to pick up his hat one of the men stomped on his fingers, just like it had happened in that dream Sougo had had. This time it was more real though, the pain sharp and _real_. The small wince of pain that Sougo couldn’t help from escaping his lips seemed to satisfy him, at least the dirty grin on his face seemed to signal that.

“Wait a minute”, another of the men, how many of them were there, Sougo felt cornered more and more, with his back to the wall and more and more faces popping up around him, said, “Look at his ears. He’s not even a full-blooded elf.”

How did he know that? Humans weren’t supposed to be knowledgeable on the topic of elves…

A sharp pain made him snap out of his thoughts, as he was pulled upwards by his ear. Sougo squeezed his eyes shut. He’d just have to endure this, only endurance would help him now…

“Look!”, the voice that seemed to belong to the man who knew some things about elves was ugly, high and dirty in tone, “The ears are way shorter than with normal elves. He’s a halfie!”

Sounds of amusement and surprise were heard around him, and Sougo just wanted to get away from these men, run away, far away, he didn’t have the time to deal with things like this now–

“Ouch! Damn dog!”, the hand grasping his ear let go and Sougo dared to open his eyes again. Tamaki’s teeth were deep inside the man’s arm, and he tried to get rid of the weredog.

_“I’ll protect you, Sou-chan.”_

Tamaki collided with the wall behind them and slid down when the man kicked him. With a wince the dog stayed on the floor, slowly transforming back into a human.

The men luckily didn’t pay him any mind.

“So, tell us”, one of them said, “Was your mommy a little whore? Is she the elf, or did your daddy come to a human brothel to have some fun once in a while? And they left a young bastard like you wander around all on your own? I know some people who will pay us a handsome fee if we bring them a half-elf bastard…”

Sougo gritted his teeth to not show the emotions he felt when they speculated about him. They were wrong, oh so wrong, but also not that far away from the truth.

“Oh yeah, let’s sell him!”

“But first we need to make him obey us.”

A kick to his side made Sougo curl up. He just had to endure it. They would get bored if he didn’t react, surely.

“Let go of Sou-chan!”, Tamaki’s voice said, “He hasn’t done anything to hurt you, so why are you hurting him?”

“Tamaki-kun…”, Sougo whispered and looked up to see Tamaki standing in front of him, his back turned towards him a protective shield. He couldn’t see his expression, but he was sure that it was furious, “I told you to stay in dog form…”

Tamaki punched the guy closest to Sougo and he went to the floor without needing any more work. He had probably been the drunkest one of them, so it was no wonder.

“A half-elf and a shapeshifter!”, the smart one exclaimed, “Amazing!”

“Let’s kill him and use his fur as lucky charms!”, someone in the back said. Loud cheering was the answer. They were really superstitious too, Sougo thought, a shapeshifter’s fur didn’t bring luck, if anything it was the opposite.

Tamaki growled, but against the pure mass of eager, drunk men trying to take him down even he couldn’t do anything.

Sougo, still in a daze from the insults and the kicks, observed the scene, like he was watching it through an old glass window. It seemed far away, and no sound reached him anymore. He was about to lose consciousness when something clear, something slender and silver, cut through the glass shattering it and letting everything seem clearer.

Four men were holding Tamaki down to the ground, and even though he was still fighting against their grips furiously he didn’t stand a chance. A fifth man stood above him, an unsheathed dagger in hand.

A chorus of “kill him, kill him, kill him” could be heard in the back, but Sougo only saw the blade nearing Tamaki’s throat, and something in him snapped.

With an animalistic scream he leaped forwards, pulling his own hidden dagger from its sheath midjump and stabbing the one with the dagger in the abdomen. He fell to the floor with a groan and when Sougo turned around, ready to kill every single one of the men who were trying to hurt _his_ companion, they got scared and let go of Tamaki.

Sougo reached down, grabbed Tamaki’s wrist and held his dagger, that was shining red with the blood of the other man, in front of him.

“He isn’t a shapeshifter”, Sougo said, “He’s a weredog, and thanks to you, this whole village is now cursed by the same witch who cursed him. Leave us alone, or we will curse you with even worse.”

The last men standing fell to their knees. Being cursed by a witch was one of the worst things simple, superstitious people could imagine, so the threat worked.

As quickly as he could he pulled Tamaki out of the village, into the direction they had to go to resume their travels.

 

“I’m sorry Sou-chan”, Tamaki said, as soon as the village was out of their sight, “I said I’d protect you, but I couldn’t do it.”

“I’m used to worse”, Sougo shrugged. He really was, “More importantly, are you hurt anywhere?”

The weredog shook his head, and Sougo sighed in relief. If Tamaki wasn’t hurt it was alright. They just had to avoid human villages and human travellers for now, without Sougo’s hat, that he had left lying on the ground in front of the shop when they had run away from the village. It would be alright.

“I know where we have to go again”, he said, “I took a detour thanks to the slave traders, but I should be able to make it back on track in about a day.”

They walked in silence. This time their travelling was different already, because Tamaki was walking with him in his human form, not on four legs but on two for once.  
Sougo felt like it was an excuse of some sort, the weredog’s way of apologizing for his failure to protect Sougo. Not that Sougo needed an apology, he hadn’t expected anyone to protect or save him. In the end it had been Sougo, who had protected Tamaki anyway. He still didn’t really know why he did it, but in that moment something had just snapped in him. In only about one day he had grown extremely fond of the presence of the weredog next to him, way too quickly for his tastes, but he couldn’t just stop what he was feeling, could he?

_“Sou-chan, I really feel like I know you already.”_

In the evening, the sun had set already, and they were sitting across of each other in front of their fire, where a few small birds Tamaki had caught were roasting, Sougo couldn’t take the silence between them anymore.

“Say Tamaki-kun”, Sougo interrupted said, his words cutting through the monotone voices of the trees only he could hear, “Why do you feel like you know me?”

Because I feel the same, he added in his thoughts. He couldn’t let Tamaki know that, he shouldn’t get too attached to him – even though it was actually too late for that already. He could try and lie to himself for a little longer.

Sougo could almost see the wagging tail when Tamaki looked up to him, happy that Sougo was talking to him.

“When I was living with the werewolves I told you about earlier they told me a story”, he began explaining. Sougo looked into Tamaki’s eyes fascinated. They were reflecting the flickering flames of their fire and somehow this gave the words more gravity.

“When the world was still young and wolves were still wolves and humans were still humans, the two species made a contract. When two of their people breathed their last breath at the same time, the souls of the deceased would merge, become one and drift through the endless tunnel of time, until two suitable bodies were found.”

Up to that point it had sounded as if Tamaki had learned those sentences by heart.

“Then the soul made from human and wolf would split and become those two people, people who would definitely find each other and who would definitely be suuuper compatible!”

“I really don’t know why you’re telling this to me”, Sougo said, “What does this have to do with us? We’re not werewolves.”

“I know but I think it still makes sense!”, Tamaki said, “Like, the feeling that I’ve known you for a long time? Doesn’t it make sense that we’re kind of connected?”

Sougo furrowed his brows: “I don’t know. I can’t imagine anything like that being true. It probably is just an odd feeling of déjà vu, that found the both of us by accident.”

“But even if it is, it doesn’t change my feelings”, Tamaki said, “I really love Sou-chan and want to stay with him.”

Sougo’s heart throbbed at this declaration of those extremely strong feelings Tamaki felt towards him.

“It’s not like I can convince you otherwise”, Sougo chuckled, trying to cover up that he was blushing, “You’re too stubborn for your own good.”

With that he pulled the birds out of the fire and they began to eat.

 

The conversation at the fire seemed to have made them become closer somewhat, as their interactions during the next few days they were travelling were more familiar again.

Sougo had lost his hat in the village, so he hid his ears under a loose ponytail he could easily wear his long hair in. He hid them, even though they were in the middle of the woods – nobody knew when they would come across someone or something hostile.

They spent their days walking towards Sougo’s destination, Tamaki accompanying him, sometimes in his wolf form, sometimes as a human. In the evenings they sat together at the fireplace, often eating small animals Tamaki had hunted, sometimes only some plants that Sougo had grown. His vast knowledge on flora and fauna of the woods really came in handy, as well as the ability to make plants grow at will with their songs.

When Tamaki was in his human form, he couldn’t stand silence, so he was talking without a break. Every story he had ever heard, everything he had ever experienced, with his sister, his mother, his father, his pack and other people he had met… he told Sougo everything. Not that Sougo minded, it was a welcome distraction from the voices of the trees, some of which had recognized his father’s blood and were singing of destiny and a certain demise that would find him. He was aware of that already; the trees didn’t have to remind him.

Sougo enjoyed Tamaki’s stories, because they made him feel like the weredog wasn’t a stranger with an odd resemblance to something that triggered this déjà vu again and again, but someone he actually _knew_ , a companion who was pleasant to travel with, a friend.

On the fifth day in the afternoon, Tamaki was just talking about how he had caught a snake with legs for one of his mother’s potions once, when he was really young, it began to rain.

 

Splosh!

The first raindrop fell from the sky and interrupted Tamaki’s story.

“It’s gonna rain!”, Tamaki said, “We should find somewhere where we can stay dry.”

Sougo nodded and they began running into the woods, to find a tree or anything else that would shelter them. Next to him, the weredog transformed and barked loudly, probably attracting attention of every single being in this forest to them, but Sougo couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment, fleeing from the rain was his top priority. But something else mixed with the feeling of not wanting to get wet. He almost enjoyed this, running through the forest together with the weredog, branches hitting his face, their voices reaching heights of euphoria about the rain, the high tempo of the situation taking his breath away and the adrenaline that was not caused by actual threats almost feeling _good_.

He wasn’t used to this, but he didn’t mind it either, so Sougo kept running after Tamaki, whose barking had come closer now.

Sougo caught up to him, standing in front of a small hole in a stone wall. It was too small to be called a cave, but it would be enough for the both of them to stay in for the duration of the rain.

Just when Sougo had gotten inside, the downpour began.

After only a few seconds the ground was completely wet, despite all the trees keeping the rain out.

“Rain is nice, once in a while”, Tamaki, who had transformed back into a human, said, “It makes everything smell clean and it sounds good.”

Sougo closed his eyes and listened to the raindrops falling onto leaves, the ground, stones, water running down bark and forming small runlets, taking off for their search of bigger waters they could join. Even without the song the plants were singing while they were drinking from the sky it was a pleasant sound.

“It’s like music”, he said then, “Rain music.”

“I like rain music then”, Tamaki decided.

They stayed in their hole for a while, silently listening to the rain music.

“Hey Sou-chan?”

“Hm?”

“Do you maybe want to come closer? I think it’s getting colder with the rain, and it’s getting late too.”

Sougo shook his head. Physical closeness, while not being weird with Tamaki, as he had found out when he had slept next to him over the last week, was still something he wasn’t used to.

“Okay then”, Tamaki said, “But then let’s talk at least. You still didn’t tell me what kind of mission this is. Why do you have to do it? What do you have to do?”

“Ah”, Sougo said, and leaned back against the wall of stone behind him, “It’s a ritual that has to be done every millennium, so every thousand years.”

“That’s not that often”, Tamaki said.

“It is often for elves”, Sougo said, “Elves are basically immortal, they live to see infinite millennia if they aren’t killed before.”

“So it’s a ritual?”, Tamaki said, “What kind of ritual is it?”

Sougo took a deep breath. Should he tell him? No, he couldn’t. Tamaki wouldn’t like it, he would _hate_ it and he would try and stop Sougo.

“I don’t know”, he lied, “The kind of ritual changes every time, so there’s no way to tell what kind of ritual it is. The only thing that doesn’t change is that the person to perform the ritual has to have the same blood as the elven village’s king, who is my father. And the same person can’t perform the ritual twice.”

“Is that why you’re a half-elf?”, Tamaki’s innocent curiosity and intuition were spot on, finding Sougo’s weakest point easily.

“My mother was human”, Sougo swallowed hard, “My father took her away from her village, where she was living on her own. He then put a spell on her that made her mind sleep, so that she could bear me. An elven pregnancy is longer than a human one, so it took a long time for me to be born, despite being a half-elf.”

He felt tears well up in his eyes, “My mother didn’t take the pregnancy well, so she died shortly after I was born. I never met her, but I’m sure that this was better. It isn’t like having a bastard child like me, who is neither elf nor human would be very enjoyable for her… Especially because her mind was sleeping the entire time. I’m sure she is happier never having met me, the child that was forced onto her like that.”

A tear spilled over and ran down his cheek. Furiously Sougo wiped at his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m not this emotional about anything usually. It must be the weather- “

A hand on his shoulder stopped his movements.

“It’s okay Sou-chan”, Tamaki said, his face serious, “I get it. Your mom suffered a lot and you never got to tell her that you were sorry, so you feel guilty. But I think you shouldn’t feel so bad about it, it’s not like you can do anything about the way you were born. I’m sure she knows that and doesn’t think that it’s your fault.”

“Tamaki-kun…”, Sougo whispered, more tears spilling out now, “Tamaki-kun, can you come closer after all? I think I’m a little cold.”

“Sure”, the weredog said, and transformed. Sougo came closer towards the dog and buried his face in the fur. It hadn’t gotten wet at all and was warm, soft and comforting. More and more tears spilled out and under sobs Sougo hugged the weredog Tamaki close to his body.

Exhausted and empty, but also more relaxed than he had ever been before, Sougo fell asleep, his head still resting on Tamaki’s belly.

 

_“This is the reason why you were born”, the booming voice of his father said, “Your only purpose is to serve the village. Train hard until the day you are needed. Do not get lost on the way there. Do not disappoint us. After you fulfil your purpose you will be free.”_

_The dreamscape faded, the dark colours of his previous room, or his cell, void of anything pleasant, washed out into something more happy, light colours and warmth. Sunshine on a peaceful meadow, laughter, a familiar voice calling his name…_

Sougo woke up slowly, the song of the trees present in his mind, but far away, as if they were still sleepy as well.  
He found that his head was cushioned well, resting on a pair of legs. He also felt fingers running through his hair, combing through his long, white locks and massaging his scalp. It felt _good_ , comforting and Sougo never wanted it to stop.

“Tamaki-kun…”, he mumbled and blinked, looking up into the smiling face of his companion, who gave him his lap to sleep on and was caressing his hair.

“Good morning Sou-chan”, Tamaki said, “You were cute sleeping like this, so I didn’t want to wake you up. I love this Sou-chan too, the sleepy, cute Sou-chan.”

Sougo sighed. Tamaki’s obsession with him would drive him crazy one of these days, even though it was endearing too. Sougo just never experienced someone genuinely liking him, so he had a hard time getting used to it.

“Give me a minute to wake up and then we can continue, yeah?”, Sougo said, lifting his head from Tamaki’s lap. He remembered falling asleep on the dog form, so Tamaki must have woken up and changed their positions in the night, or the morning.

“You’re always in such a hurry, Sou-chan”, Tamaki’s hand gently pushed Sougo’s head down again, “That ritual can wait a few more hours. Take it slow for once. You’re exhausted enough.”

Only now that Tamaki mentioned it, Sougo could feel his muscles ache. The death march he had endured before being knocked out by those slave traders and meeting Tamaki, the fight in the village, weeks of sleeping on the forest floor… It all took a toll on his body. He had supressed all thoughts about his own wellbeing for the sake of his mission until now, but with Tamaki’s words everything came back to him.

Scrape wounds, bruises, tense muscles…

“Maybe it’s actually time to take a break”, Sougo admitted, “Is it alright if I sleep some more then...?”

“’Course!”, Tamaki’s smile was bright and honest. Sougo felt his heart flutter at the sight.  
Again the sense of déjà vu stole his breath away and made him feel like he was forgetting something very important.

What was the weredog doing to him?, was Sougo’s last thought before he dozed off, Tamaki’s fingers tangled in his hair again.

 

When he woke up it was the middle of the day. The trees were singing of sun and wind, and Sougo felt those two things too, warmth of the sunlight dancing over his face, heating up the skin. He opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of the weredog drooling, leaned against the rock, where they were still half hidden under.

Sougo sat up. It wasn’t like the wounds had healed from a few hours of extra sleep, but he was feeling way better than before.

Rummaging through his equipment bag he found enough rations to make a meal for the two of them, and he let Tamaki sleep next to him. The weredog’s breathing was calming, and it was even loud enough that Sougo could concentrate on it more than the song of a tree trying to tell him about an infestation its roots had.

“Tamaki-kun”, he shook Tamaki’s shoulder when he had finished making the meal. The weredog grumbled in his sleep, “Tamaki-kun, wake up. There’s food.”

Suddenly awake Tamaki opened his eyes and stared at Sougo directly. He seemed to see right through him, his blue eyes making him transparent and laying all his secrets out in front of his companion.  
He probably had those eyes from his mother, the witch, Sougo concluded, but it wasn’t like Tamaki could read thoughts, like some witches were said to.

“Morning”, Tamaki slurred, “You made food, Sou-chan?”

Sougo nodded and in silence they ate. It wasn’t much, as it was made from rations, but Sougo thought of it as a sufficient meal, especially because they would probably eat something else for dinner.

“Let’s continue walking for the rest of the day”, Sougo said, “I have to admit that you were right. The last weeks have tired me out and I agree that I should take more breaks. I don’t want to collapse before I arrive at the temple.”

“So you do understand!”, Tamaki said, “You need to take care of yourself more, Sou-chan. You need yourself, you know?”

Sougo knew that that wasn’t true, but he nodded and tried to fake a smile. It didn’t really work, but Tamaki still beamed at him, that little achievement in making Sougo care more about himself making him euphoric.

 

After their lunch they continued their journey again.

Walking under the trees that got younger, now that they left the core and heart of the woods, made Sougo feel a strange emotion that he had never felt before.

“This is a strange feeling”, Sougo said, “The trees making small spots of sunlight dance over the floor, the leaves so fresh and green… The scent of the young trees living and listening to their songs… I think I hear a stream ahead of us… Birds singing… It makes my heart _soar_ with this emotion, but I can’t place it.”

Tamaki hummed in thought. “Isn’t that ‘freedom’?”

“Freedom…?”, Sougo mused. Freedom wasn’t something he had ever felt like this, so he wouldn’t know. He hadn’t been free his entire live, and he wasn’t free now either, he had his mission, a clear goal and his final destination, but if Tamaki said so, this was freedom.

After a while of walking, Sougo picked up the song of a group of birches, young siblings, still growing and perfectly in synch. Without consciously doing anything, he began humming along with their song, and the trees around him followed his lead, singing for the birches. In response they grew, their growth accelerated by the combined strength of the wood.  
Wordless thankfulness resonated through their song, meant for Sougo and Sougo alone.

“Wow”, Tamaki whispered in front of him, where he had been walking. Sougo hadn’t even noticed that he had turned around when he had begun to hum, “Sou-chan almost never smiles like this.”

Noticing that Tamaki was right, Sougo _was_ smiling, a light tug at his lips only, but it was definitely _there_. A smile. In the short time he had known Tamaki he had learned something that he had never known how to do before. Sougo had learned how to smile naturally, without needing a trigger for it, like the meat had been.

He felt his cheeks flush and hid his face behind his hands. “That’s embarrassing Tamaki-kun… Don’t look at me like that.”

“But you looked really good. Like, I always knew you were beautiful, but smiling you’re even more beautiful! I love your smile, I hope I can make you smile more!”

Sougo only felt his blush grow fiercer at these words, so he walked faster, to pass Tamaki and walk in front of him. That way he wouldn’t be able to look at him anymore, wouldn’t be able to see his embarrassment.

“Let’s look for a place where we can rest. The sun is going to set soon. Maybe we can follow that stream I heard a while ago, that way we would already have fresh water close to us. Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

With a laugh Tamaki followed him. “Sou-chan, you’re funny sometimes. I like that part of you too~”

They walked along the stream that really had just been a few metres away from them. Luckily it went in the same direction they had to go, and Sougo and Tamaki followed it until it grew wider and ended in a still water, a pond, almost big enough to be called a lake.

It was a beautiful little place, perfect, like from a picture book. Willow trees were hunched over the shores and threw shade on the surface of the water, effectively making it impossible to see the ground of the lake, even at the shore, where it should have been shallow.  
The parts of the surface where the sun reached were covered in hundreds of white water lilies. Perfectly symmetrical and covering most of the surface, with light shining on them, spotless petals like snow on the lake. Their heavy scent hung over the lake, a breath-taking perfume. It was almost sickly sweet, and Sougo coughed when he inhaled it.

He was surprised that he couldn’t hear the lilies.

Normally flower’s voices were faint and small, easily drowned out by louder voices of the trees, but in a huge cluster like this Sougo should have been able to hear them.  
The willow trees were strangely silent as well.

“Oh, it looks really pretty here”, Tamaki said, “And it smells really nice too! Let’s stay here.”

“…Okay”, Sougo wasn’t happy with that solution, but the sky was slowly turning yellow and orange and the sun would soon be dipping down behind the horizon and then everything would be cast into darkness. It was too late to look for another place, so he sent Tamaki to look for something to eat, maybe a fish or two from the stream, and went to collect firewood.

The trees were anxious, restlessly their songs penetrated Sougo’s brain and he felt a headache forming. What was wrong with this lake? He felt like he should be remembering something, but nothing came to mind.

With the firewood he collected he went back to the camp and lit a fire.  
The flickering flames and the light of the setting suns reflected on the white water lilies, painting them with the colour of blood. A red layer floating on top of the lake, as if someone had bled out inside didn’t make Sougo feel more comfortable about it.

“There are no fish in the stream”, Tamaki announced from behind suddenly, startling Sougo.

“Not a single fish?”

“Nope. There’s also no other plants, at least not close to here.”

“Well then”, Sougo sighed, “I will go into the woods for some time. I’ll find us some food. You just stay here and keep the fire running. If anything happens call me.”

Tamaki nodded and sat down next to the fire. Sougo looked at Tamaki, who wore a carefree expression again. If even the weredog didn’t sense anything, could it be that bad? Sougo was probably just overreacting over some shy plants who weren’t singing for him.

Soon Sougo found a few wild sweet potatoes and knelt down to touch the plant, to make the edible roots grow quicker, so he could take them with him.

While he was digging the sun went down completely and the forest was cast in darkness. He had four or five of the roots in his bag already and was just digging for the next one, when he heard a scream pierce the night.

It wasn’t remotely human, or like any other species or creature he had ever heard.

Tamaki didn’t call his name, but Sougo had heard that the noise had come from the direction of the lake, so he dropped everything he was holding and took off running.

The trees were screaming now too, screaming at him to run away, to _flee_ , to leave his companion alone and just _save himself_ , but Sougo didn’t listen to them.

Mid-run he unsheathed his dagger, holding it in a defensive position, so he would be able to quickly deflect attacks directed at him or Tamaki.

When he arrived at the lake the sickly-sweet scent of the water lilies had intensified and was now suffocating. The lilies themselves were gone, had completely vanished, and the water didn’t look all that beautiful anymore, less like a dark mirror and more like a normal lake, full of stirred up mud and dirt. The surface of the water moved, as if something had just emerged from the lake.

On the shore, where their fire had been, only a bunch of wet wood was left, and next to it a hunched over figure kneeled, half hidden under a much bigger creature.

A newt-like monster, about four meters long was standing on the shore. All over its back the water lilies from earlier hung, grown from the back, slightly moving. Definitely part of its body, that was the reason why the flowers hadn’t talked to Sougo. Because they weren’t flowers at all.  
The newt’s skin and flesh were completely transparent, that was why Sougo didn’t see it at first. The only thing one could see was the organs working inside of its body.

He could see the heart about the size of his own head working to keep that transparent blood flowing through the transparent veins, the empty stomach hungrily clenching around nothing, and the long, long lungs inhale and exhale.

Sougo knew what this creature was, and he hated himself for not noticing earlier. Meadarlans were rare creatures, not often encountered, so Sougo hadn’t expected to meet one, but they possessed extremely deadly abilities. Not only were they perfectly adapted to live in the shadow on the ground of ponds and lakes, depending on their size, and make it seem perfectly normal, by using their almost completely transparent bodies and the plant imitations that grew on their backs, but they were also highly poisonous, their skin less than their spit. Also they were able to regenerate any body part, be it limb or organ they lost, so they were basically immortal, if not completely destroyed – and even if anybody hurt it, they weren’t likely to survive thanks to their acidic blood.

“Tamaki-kun...!”, Sougo called, but Tamaki didn’t move.

The Meadarlan was standing over his body, salivating. Sougo could see the tongue working inside the mouth of the creature and hear the sound of the floor sizzling where the poison hit it.

“Tamaki-kun, run! You don’t stand a chance again this creature!”, Sougo called, “Get up, come on! Just get up and run away!”

He was almost panicking, not knowing what he could do to save Tamaki, if there was even a way to save him.

In a desperate attempt to get the Meadarlan’s attention he ran out of the shade of the trees. He grabbed a branch that had broken off a tree just recently, as the voice of the tree still resonated through it. With all strength Sougo could muster up he threw the branch, hitting an eye of the monster.

It turned around with another one of those piercing screeches that he had heard before. Their eyes met. There was not a single ounce of intelligence in the Meadarlan’s transparent eyeballs, the slitted pupil that was purely white, just like the lilies had been, only filled with hunger, bloodlust and rage.

Before Sougo could actually react to anything but this piercing stare, he was hit in the chest by the tail of the creature. He lost ground under his feet, flew backwards into one of the willow trees and felt the wood, dead, rotten, cold wood, only kept looking alive by the magic of the Meadarlan, who wanted to make its lake seem appealing to travellers to devour them.

Sougo could feel his chest bruise and the fabric of his vest being eaten by the poison, but this wasn’t the time to stay on the floor.

With a hand on the floor he called out for any roots and trees who were alive to grab Tamaki, who still wasn’t moving, and move him out of harm’s way.

He thought he heard a faint ‘Sou-chan’ when the roots grabbed the weredog, but he couldn’t be sure. It didn’t matter in this moment either, because the Meadarlan came running towards him again, water splashing in every direction when it tried to take the short way and run through the water.

With Tamaki out of harm’s way, Sougo opened his mouth and began to sing.

The wordless song of the trees that he had been hearing his whole life, that song he had learned to read and understand, and how to use it too, it sounded from his lips and all trees around him gave him control over them.

In perfect synch with the forest around him the fight, or dance, began.

A wooden wall, protecting Sougo grew straight out of the floor when he called for it. When it collided with the wall, too fast to stop in front of it, the Meadarlan’s head cracked with a noise that made Sougo feel nauseous. The scream it let out was more than enough to show that this had not been enough to keep it down or kill it even.

Sougo’s grip on the dagger became more strained, his knuckles standing out against his skin whitely.

With a silent call roots shot out from underground, piercing the Meadarlan’s body, stomach and legs. They began to crumble immediately, the acid in the clear blood eating at them, but Sougo sent new ones, again and again, so the monster would be immobile for at least a few seconds.

With a smooth motion he climbed up the wooden wall he had built and came to a halt on the head of the monster. He felt the poison dissolving the soles of his shoes, so he ran along the back of the creature in a few steps.

His dagger felt heavy in his hand, when he cut into the transparent flesh, the blood leaking from the wound smelling like foul water lilies, careful that none of it hit him.

The tail of the beast fell to the floor and melted into a puddle of transparent slime.  
Now it was one weapon short and Sougo let go of the exhausted trees, that had lost more roots in these few seconds than they would in all years of their life, let them crawl back into the safe earth, where no acid would ever burn them.

Finally being able to move again, the Meadarlan turned around to him again. It was bleeding from several wounds, lost its tail and was breathing heavily from the exhaustion. Sougo saw the long lungs working in the body, desperately clinging onto life.

Sougo was just about to attack it again, to possibly cut its head off and leave it to regenerate, so he and Tamaki could flee again, when a flash of blue hurried past him and came to a halt in front of him.

Barking at the Meadarlan the weredog stood there, his back turned towards Sougo.

“Tamaki-kun...!”, Sougo breathed, interrupting his song, “You can’t fight this, it’s too difficult for-“

With a leap the dog was at the Meadarlan’s throat and buried its teeth into the transparent flesh.

“No!”, Sougo cried, crossing the distance between them and throwing Tamaki away from the beast with a firm grip of his right hand on the weredog’s neck. Luckily weredog anatomy worked like that of normal dogs.

A huge chunk of flesh ripped from the throat of the Meadarlan with that movement, the dog thankfully let it fall to the floor, where it dissolved like the tail had earlier. The clear blood dripping from the wound hit Sougo’s left hand, but in the adrenaline rush that came from having to save Tamaki’s life, he didn’t pay it all that much attention.  
Tamaki winced under his angry glare, but Sougo couldn’t seem to find anything worse than a little fur around his mouth missing, which was relieving.

“Stay back Tamaki-kun”, Sougo said, “I can deal with this on my own. It’s too dangerous for you.”

Dejectedly the dog barked but listened and disappeared in the shadow of the trees again.

The animalistic scream of the Meadarlan turned Sougo’s attention towards the monster again. Wiggling on the floor in pain, from half its throat missing, the beast was almost impossible to be seen as a threat. Still its eyes met Sougo’s and he saw that it was still fighting, struggling to stay alive and trying to get food.

Sougo stepped closer and called upon the trees again. Roots wrapped around the legs of the Meadarlan and secured it, while Sougo took his dagger. With some roots he turned the Meadarlan’s head, so that he could see the wound Tamaki’s fangs had ripped into its throat, and used this opening, to set his dagger there.

The soft flesh fell apart under his elven dagger easily, and after just a few seconds the Meadarlan was decapitated, the headless body twitching slightly, the beating heart the only sign that it was still alive and would regenerate again.

With the threat gone, Sougo calmed down again.

“Tamaki-kun!”, he called, “You can come again, it won’t attack us anymore!”

In his human form Tamaki came out of the forest. Even though he didn’t have a tail in this form, Sougo thought that he could see the dog’s tail between his legs, dejectedly, feeling guilty.

Silently he collected all of Sougo’s belongings, put them into Sougo’s equipment bag, and slung it over his shoulder.

“Let’s run away from here, Tamaki-kun, and then- “, Sougo didn’t get to finish his sentence. The floor seemed to tilt and suddenly he had a face full of dirt. He had… fallen over? His mind was hazy, dizzy and clouded from _something_ , and he didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was the exhaustion from using the tree’s song…

“Sou-chan!”, Tamaki called out for him. He was at his side immediately, turning him over to lie on his back. Through a layer of tears, Sougo could see Tamaki’s worried face obscure the night sky.

“Sou-chan, what’s wrong? Does it hurt Sou-chan? Where- “, Tamaki interrupted himself, his eyes widening in horror.

“Oh no…”, he whispered, “Oh no, no, no...!”

Sougo’s mind wanted to sleep, but he fought against it, fought the urge to sleep, because he felt that, if he slept right now, he wouldn’t wake up again.

“Sou-chan, your hand...!”

Only now Sougo noticed it. The left hand that had been hit by the acidic blood of the Meadarlan… He didn’t feel it anymore.

Sougo mustered up all of his strength and lifted his arm up, so he could see.

It wasn’t a pretty view.

The flesh that had been hit by the acid had become an ugly, unhealthy and grey, partly it was almost black. It had partly crumbled, and sunken in in other parts, so his hand was almost skeletal now.

And he didn’t feel a thing. He wouldn’t move his fingers either.

“Ah…”, Sougo breathed, “My body is trying to heal me, so I’m losing consciousness…”

“What do I do, Sou-chan?”, Tamaki asked, earnestly concerned. Was that a tear on his face? Sougo couldn’t be sure, it was dark and his vision was hazy.

“Cut it off”, Sougo whispered, “I don’t really need a left hand for the ritual…”

“No way I’m doing that!”, Tamaki said, “I can’t cut off your hand Sou-chan! I’m going to find a healer and heal you.”

No healer who would be in this area would be willing to treat him, the half-elf, Sougo thought, but he didn’t have the strength to resist.

With the last bit of consciousness he felt that Tamaki picked him up and cradled him in his arms. The silence of the lake was replaced with the soft lulling sounds of the song of the resting trees. Enveloped in the warmth and those calming voices, putting him to sleep, Sougo drifted away from the real world and into the dreamscapes of his subconscious.

 

_The face of his uncle behind bars formed from wood. No, his uncle was in front of the bars. This was Sougo’s cell, where he had slept and eaten his whole life. Tiny hands gripping the bars and his uncle’s young face told Sougo that this was an old memory. He would have been about five or six years old, a few years after his father had begun his training._

_“Sougo, have you eaten yet?”, his uncle asked, the voice kind and so familiar, that the young Sougo almost felt like crying, for he was only used to the screaming his father did when he did something wrong, only knew screaming and harsh commands. Slowly he shook his head._

_His uncle hummed a soft melody, and the wooden bars moved aside, so he could give Sougo a bowl of soup and a piece of bread. He hummed again, and they closed again, leaving no room for Sougo to escape, or even get his arm out of the cell._

_“Your father told me that you said that you could hear the trees sing, is that true?”, his uncle asked, while Sougo ate._

_Sougo nodded meekly. Hearing the song of the trees had been a disturbing experience for the young child. He had been scared, scared, why this wordless song from a million different directions transmitted emotions and information to him._

_“That’s great Sougo”, his uncle said, “I can teach you how to use those powers for many useful things!”_

_“Really?”, his voice had been so small when he was a kid. It had grown in strength since then, but back then it had been nothing but a tiny voice, not worthy of being listened to. At least that was what his father made him feel like._

_“Yes, really. You know how with my music I can move wood and other plants? If you can do that too, you can use all plants around you for your own purposes.”_

_“So I have to sing with them?”_

_“Exactly”, his uncle said, “Let’s try right now. In this bag there’s a bunch of flower seeds from the forest. Try listening to their voices and singing with them. If you manage to make a flower grow with your singing it would be great already.”_

_He handed him a small bag from paper through the bars and Sougo took one of the seeds out of the bag and closed his eyes, to concentrate on the voice of the tiny flower seed better._

_After a while he thought that he had the seed found out and began humming along with it.  
To his surprise it actually worked. A small green sprout broke out of the seed, growing stronger and bigger by the second. Sougo looked at the plant proudly, its voice grew stronger the bigger it grew too, and sang louder, until a small bud began blooming in his hand and filled his cell with the sweet smell of the flower._

_“I did it, uncle!”, Sougo said, and the proud expression on his uncle’s face was the most rewarding thing he had ever gotten in his life._

_“Perfect Sougo!”, his uncle said, “But be careful with using these powers. If you use it too much it may exhaust your energy and leave you helpless. So don’t overexert yourself.”_

_Sougo nodded, understanding the gravity of this statement. He wasn’t a full-blooded elf like his uncle, so he was too weak to actually use this power. It was only natural. He just wasn’t as good as elves…_

_The scene faded into another one, the taste of disappointment in himself still bitter on his tongue._

_An older Sougo, maybe eight or nine years old, stood behind a corner and listened to his father and his uncle argue._

_“_ You _taught that boy all of those unnecessary abilities! He doesn’t need to make a tree grow to survive the few weeks in the wild, until he fulfils his purpose.”_

_“He has a name, you know”, his uncle sounded defensive. His arms were crossed._

_“A name that_ you _gave him, again. Stop defying me, brother, or it won’t end well for you. Do you_ want _this village to be destroyed?!”_

 _“Of course I don’t want that! But I can’t stand seeing you_ breed _children like they’re animals, and brainwash them, only to send them to her and never see them again!”_

_“What are you suggesting then, going myself? That won’t work either. Do you want to go?!”_

_“We both know that that’s not possible, brother. If it would spare Sougo you know that I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.”_

_“You love him too much.”_

_“You don’t love him enough.”_

_“Loving him won’t do any of us any good. Least of all you.”_

_“I just think it’s unfair to send a child who has never known love out, unguarded and inexperienced in anything but fighting and theoretical knowledge about anything in the world. How is Sougo supposed to communicate with others, if he never talked to anyone his whole life?”_

_“The boy doesn’t_ need _to talk to anyone. He just needs to fulfil his purpose, the thing he was born to do.”_

_“You really shouldn’t be the one to decide about someone else’s purpose like that. Sougo is special. He has the ability to hear the song of the trees. Not even you can do that and none of the other children could.”_

_“It’s simply not necessary for any of us to talk to trees.”_

_“Just let me teach him. I promise it won’t hurt me when he goes. Because I know by not giving any of your children names and treating them like the scum of the earth you’re trying to protect yourself. You’re selfish, brother.”_

_“I’m doing this for the good of the village…!”_

_Sougo ran away, away from the argument. He had heard enough. He knew that his father hated him and that he didn’t approve of his uncle teaching him about the tree’s songs._

_The scene faded when the past Sougo opened his room with a soft hum._

_In the next memory, they were memories, his father was supervising other elves installing iron bars in place of the wooden ones, that hadn’t been an obstacle for Sougo anymore. Sougo had been thirteen then._

_“Now that your uncle is dead we can’t get you out of here if there’s wooden bars, boy”, his father said, a cold look the only thing he had for Sougo._

_“Uncle died?!”, the dream-Sougo asked. The pain in his voice was apparent, but his father didn’t react to it at all._

_“He was sick, had it long time coming. Talking to trees and giving them his life energy in exchange for short-lived entertainment didn’t help his case. And now you will never speak a word about him again, boy.”_

_That was the end of the memories, and Sougo fell into a deep darkness, the blackness around him like a silken cocoon, protecting him, keeping him safe._

Sougo jerked awake.

The room where he had been sleeping was dark, only some light came in from a gap in the fabric that covered the entrance.

A soft mattress underneath him and a warm blanket from wool made him comfortable, and even though he still felt a little dizzy he didn’t feel the overwhelming exhaustion he had felt after using the tree’s song so much.

Something moved next to him and Sougo recognized the light blue of Tamaki’s hair. The weredog was sleeping next to the bed Sougo had been sleeping in. His fingers were tangled with Sougo’s own hand, the right one. Of course it was his right hand. He still couldn’t feel his left hand and he doubted that he ever would again.  
The memory of the corroded flesh was still present in Sougo’s mind and he preferred not to think about it too much.

Carefully Sougo pulled his hand out of the tight grasp of the weredog. He ignored the pitiful whine Tamaki made upon losing the contact and began patting Tamaki’s head. He was still alive and Tamaki was with him so that meant that Tamaki had saved him in one way or the other. He would ask about that later, but now Tamaki deserved praise, even if he wasn’t awake for receiving it.

The soft blue locks under his fingers felt familiar and Sougo wondered what kind of magic was responsible for that feeling. Tamaki had explained it with that strange werewolf folklore, but even if that story was true for werewolves, neither of them were werewolves. Tamaki was born as the son of a human witch and a human and Sougo was a half-elf. Werewolf rules didn’t apply to any of them.

The fabric in front of the entrance was shoved aside and light flooded the room. Blinded by the light Sougo blinked at the figure in the entrance, a tall man with long hair from what he could guess from the silhouette.

“You’re awake!”, the man said and Sougo relaxed. This was not a threatening voice at all. He felt safe in its presence, “Oh, Tamaki is going to hate this. He stayed awake for most of the time you’ve been here, you know. I could only convince him to sleep more than the occasional nap yesterday, only if he could remain at your side of course. And now you woke up without him.”

“Tamaki-kun did that?”, Sougo asked, surprised by that news. Only when he heard his own voice, wretched and unused he realised that his throat felt like soil after a drought.

“Come, I will prepare a seat and something to drink for you, then we can talk. We should let Tamaki sleep, he must be very exhausted”, the man came closer and only now Sougo could see his features clearly. Long, dark blue hair in a complicated braid and kind eyes, a face more beautiful than anyone Sougo had ever seen. Elves were supposed to be the most beautiful species, only overthrown by fairies.

“You’re a fairy”, Sougo breathed while the man helped him get up. Sougo’s legs were weak and he felt his body trembled from the stress of standing up.

“You’re correct”, the man said and smiled, “Tamaki took longer to find out.”

When they stepped outside of the tent – because that was what it was, a tent from a midnight-blue fabric looking like it was woven from a dream – Sougo’s breath was taken away by how beautiful the area was.

They were standing on a clearing unlike any he had ever seen before.

Surrounded by strong and healthy trees there was a small river. Its water was clear enough that Sougo could see stones on the ground and small fish playing between some plants.  
Just as beautiful and silver as the river was the grass that was growing on the rest of the clearing. The voice of the grass was present in Sougo’s mind, clear and light like the sound of miniature bells from pure silver.

“Oh”, Sougo breathed in astonishment, “This is beautiful.”

“Thank you”, the man, the fairy, said, “It was difficult to create it like this, but I just prefer my environment to look like my old home.”

Sougo nodded and sat down on one of the chairs that were standing in front of the tent. The fairy disappeared for a moment and came back with a cup filled with water and a plate full of fruit and bread.

Thankfully Sougo took the cup and drank greedily, his sore throat demanding for liquid.

It was the best water Sougo had ever had in his life.

“I haven’t introduced myself yet”, the man said, “My name is Banri and I’m a travelling fairy.”

“I see”. Sougo said, “I can safely assume that it was you who saved me then?”

“I wouldn’t say that I saved you”, Banri said, “That was definitely Tamaki’s doing. He carried you for about three nights and three days until he found me.”

“Tamaki-kun…”, Sougo said and his heart clenched painfully. Tamaki shouldn’t be so dedicated to help him. It wasn’t healthy and wouldn’t take a good end for any of them.

“I only provided medical assistance. Speaking of which, could you show me your left hand?”

Sougo swallowed hard but lifted his left arm. He still didn’t feel his left hand, but now he saw that it was wrapped in bandages.

The fairy took the hand in his and began to peel the bandages off.

To Sougo’s surprise the hand looked normal. Healthy flesh on bones that weren’t broken, no sign of the acid that had been melting him left.

“It worked!”, Banri said, sounding relieved, “I wasn’t sure it would. I healed your bones and flesh – the only problem are the nerves. I doubt you will ever be able to use the hand again. I’m sorry, but Meadarlan acid is very destructive and it isn’t easy to heal wounds caused by it.”

“It’s alright…”, Sougo mumbled and touched the hand he had thought would never be restored. It felt strange touching a part of himself, but only feeling the sensation at one point of contact, “Thank you, Banri-san.”

“Thank Tamaki”, Banri smiled and with that the both of them shut up and Sougo began to eat, resting the plate on his thighs.

“You seem familiar with Tamaki-kun”, Sougo asked then, “Have I been unconscious for very long?”

“Since you arrived here twelve days have passed”, Banri said, “But I’ve known Tamaki for far longer. When he lived with that pack of werewolves they would call my name when one of them was injured. I live to heal, so whoever knows my name can call upon me. I’ve known him from back then.”

“That long…”, Sougo mumbled and chewed on the bread.

“I’m glad he has found someone like you”, Banri added, like it was an afterthought, “The kid was always lonely, because he wasn’t quite like anyone in the pack. But the way he looks at you… As if you hung the stars.”

Sougo swallowed. He was aware that Tamaki held very strong feelings for him but hearing someone else say it made it more real, in a way.

“Also, having a lover who can slay a meadarlan on his own…”

“Lover?!”, Sougo almost choked on his bread, “I’m not… we’re not lovers!”

“No?”, Banri said, a mysterious smile dancing around his lips, “I guess I misread the soul strings then.”

“Soul strings?”, Sougo asked. He had never heard of something like that.

“You know, every being has a soul. Plants’ souls are in their voices, something I don’t need to explain to you, if what Tamaki told me is true. And other creatures, like us, we have souls that are connected. Soul strings aren’t visible to most people, but they can feel them. When two people form a bond, a relationship, a friendship, anything really, they also knit their souls together with a soul string. They aren’t permanent, they aren’t there from the beginning of time, and they can fade when people grow apart, but as long as they are there they can indicate the nature of a relationship to people like me, who can see the soul strings.”

“And Tamaki-kun and I…?”

“Your soul string is of a beautiful gold, about as thick as my wrist. Only once before I’ve seen a string close to yours, with two good friends of mine.”

“But what does that mean?”, Sougo was confused. He didn’t know how to feel about news like this.

“That is something you have to find out for yourself. I can’t explain your own feelings to you.”

“Understandable”, Sougo mumbled, “Thank you, Banri-san.”

Again the clearing grew quiet, until Sougo heard a noise behind him and turned around. Tamaki stood in the entrance to the tent, eyes tired but looking around frantically, searching for something. When their eyes met Tamaki’s entire body relaxed, relief washing over him.

“Sou-chan!”, he said, “I was so worried! I didn’t know what to do, so I called for Ban-san! I hope that’s okay for you?”

“Tamaki-kun”, Sougo interrupted the weredog, who grew quiet immediately. He had been worried about Sougo, that much was obvious, “Come here.”

Obediently Tamaki stepped closer to Sougo and sat down on the grass next to Sougo’s chair.

Sougo ran the fingers of his right hand through Tamaki’s bedhead. The weredog closed his eyes and enjoyed the petting.

“Thank you, Tamaki-kun”, Sougo said then, “You saved me. You protected me. Well done.”

“Even though it was my fault that you got hurt in the first place...?”, Tamaki’s voice was so small. He looked far younger like this too, more like his actual age.

“Of course”, Sougo said and found that these words were his true feelings, “I don’t deserve you.”

“If I say I love you that means you deserve me!”, Tamaki said, opening his eyes again, “I don’t care if you’re a half-elf and all that crap other people tell you, about you being worthless! Sou-chan is Sou-chan and I love Sou-chan, so Sou-chan is amazing!”

Sougo swallowed. Tamaki would give him a heart attack one of these days. “Okay”, he said then, “Thank you, Tamaki-kun.”

While he continued stroking Tamaki’s hair Banri threw him a knowing look. Sougo supposed that he had been right. The strong bond between them was definitely there, whether it was caused by a story for werewolves, strings connecting souls or something else – Sougo knew that Tamaki was special to him and that he was special to Tamaki.

He also knew that they didn’t have any future. That _he_ didn’t have any future.

Better to not get too comfortable. It would make it easier for both of them.

“Say Banri-san”, Sougo said, “When do you think will I be able to continue my journey? And do you have a map to show us where we are?”

“I can’t say that, but you should be able to get back on track quickly. Your healing has been completed two days ago and you recovered most of your energy. Just eat and drink plenty then you should be alright”, Banri thought for a moment, “And this place is everywhere and nowhere. Where do you need to go? Perhaps I can take you.”

“I need to get to the heart of the Mortiferum Mountains. There is a waterfall there that hides the entrance to a cave with a temple my father built. That’s where I have to go.”

“I know that waterfall, but I never knew there was a temple there”, Banri said, astonished by this new knowledge, “I suppose I can take you close to there.”

“Thank you, it’s a great help. Can you do it now?”

“Stop”, Tamaki said, suddenly getting back into the conversation, “You’re always in a hurry, why can’t you just be more relaxed, Sou-chan…”

“I apologize Tamaki-kun, but this mission is urgent”, he just wanted it to be over with, so the pain wouldn’t be as bad for Tamaki. He knew he should have made this decision when they had met, their first meeting felt so long ago and still like yesterday, and that it was too late for any of that, but maybe he could make it easier for the weredog…

“You said it’s every thousand years. A day or two more can’t hurt”, Tamaki pouted, “Let’s stay with Ban-san, okay, Sou-chan?”

Banri nodded, “Even if you are already better it would be best if you stay here for a while. At least today.”

“Alright”, Sougo sighed, relinquishing, “But only for today.”

“Yay!”, Tamaki smiled, “Let’s go playing at the river then. Can we, Ban-san?”

“Of course, my river is practically _made_ for playing.”

“Thanks Ban-san! Come Sou-chan”, Tamaki took Sougo’s wrist and dragged him out of his seat towards the river.

The silver grass under Sougo’s feet tingled happily when he ran through it, and he felt as if the plant’s happiness was bleeding into him like sweet syrup into the cake his uncle had brought him one time.

Tamaki sat him down on the shore by the riverside and stepped into the river himself. The legs of his pants were drenched in seconds, but he didn’t seem to mind. Sougo dangled his feet into the water too. The smooth water surface parted for him and firmly closed around his limbs. It felt almost like soft fabric, Sougo thought. It was a good feeling, one that Sougo didn’t expect he would ever get from water.

“Look Sou-chan, the pack and I used to try and catch fish here when one of us was recovering in the tent. I never caught one before though.”

With that he dove into the water quickly, trying to grasp one of the tiny fish that had gathered around his feet, curious what this strange being was that invaded their territory.  
Of course they all evaded Tamaki’s hand, far too slow and clumsy to grab one of them.

Sougo chuckled at the view of a pouting Tamaki, whose arm was completely drenched now too.

“Are you…”, Tamaki stared at Sougo with his mouth open, “Sou-chan, you’re laughing!”

“I’m not”, Sougo said, but he couldn’t hide it anymore and grinned widely, “You’re lying Tamaki-kun.”

“Sou-chan is laughing, this is the best day of my life”, Tamaki said and spread his arms, “Come into the water too!”

Sougo stood up from the shore and tried to stand in the river. His pants felt heavy all of the sudden, now that they were full of water. The round stones on the ground of the river were more slippery than he expected too, and when he tried to take a step forward he slipped and fell, knocking into Tamaki, which caused them both to fall into the river.

Water splashed all around them, and Tamaki, who had tried to catch him was now sitting in the water, while Sougo knelt in front of him, his shoulders in Tamaki’s firm grasp.

They stared at each other for a second, both of them confused and drenched.

Then Sougo began to giggle and Tamaki burst out laughing.

The droplets of water that got caught in his hair when they had fallen glistened in the sunlight. Like silver they shone and Sougo thought that he wanted to crown Tamaki’s head with a diadem from pure silver, as beautiful as the weredog himself.

While his body was still trembling from his laughter, Tamaki’s hand trailed down Sougo’s left arm and took his left hand in his. Now Sougo wished that he could still feel his hand, to feel Tamaki’s touch that was so tender and loving.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to your hand”, Tamaki said, “If I had listened to you this wouldn’t have happened.”

Mumbling an apology, he pressed a kiss to Sougo’s thumb.

Sougo felt his cheeks heat up and squirmed, but Tamaki held him firmly, continuing his kisses, each with a mumbled word of apology.

“’m sorry”, kiss to the pointer finger.

“Sorry”, kiss to the middle finger.

“So sorry”, kiss to the ring finger.

“I’m sorry”, kiss to the little finger.

Tamaki stopped apologizing and kissed back, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.

Sougo’s face must have looked like a tomato by now. Even though he couldn’t feel the kisses pressed to his skin, the sight of Tamaki taking the blame for his lost hand even though he didn’t _have_ to, goodness, he must have been feeling so guilty for the past weeks to do something like this, Sougo felt happy.

Only when he felt a tear run down his face he noticed that he was crying.

“Are you crying...?”, Tamaki asked, suddenly worried about Sougo again.

“No”, Sougo sobbed, “It’s not like that… I just felt so overwhelmed… By you and your feelings? I don’t know. Sorry.”

“It’s okay”, Tamaki said, his voice dipping lower than normal, almost as if he was trying not to cry too. He was too empathetic for his own good... He pulled Sougo closer to his chest, so that he was leaning against him now in an awkward half-hug, “Is this better?”

Sougo felt leftover stress leave his body and his muscles relax when he felt Tamaki’s warmth.

“Yes”, he breathed and slung his arms around Tamaki’s neck. Burying his nose in the crook of Tamaki’s neck he felt that Tamaki had closed both his arms around Sougo’s chest, pulling him closer. The blue hair tickled Sougo’s neck, his own luckily still in that ponytail of his, and Sougo reached up to pat the back of Tamaki’s head with his right hand. His crying hadn’t become better, at this point he was silently sobbing into Tamaki’s neck – not that it mattered, they were drenched already anyway.

Holding each other they stayed close. Sougo had stopped crying after a while, the situation kicking in and him finally realising what kind of position they were in.  
The water was heavy and pulled at their clothes, dragging them down.

Sougo imagined what it would be like – to drown. What if this river was deeper and he would slip outside in the dark night, when Tamaki and Banri were sleeping, to fill his pockets with stones and climb into the water, to never break through the surface again?

“I think the water is doing something to me…”, he mumbled, his lips muffled by Tamaki’s collarbone they were pressed against, “I feel like the whole world is spinning and my emotions are spinning around me too.”

“We can get out if you want to”, Tamaki mumbled back, his voice just as muffled, but close enough for Sougo to hear.

“I don’t want to stop”, Sougo said and felt Tamaki tighten the hug at that, “but maybe not in the water...?”

“’kay”, Tamaki said and next thing Sougo knew he was grabbed by the thighs and lifted out of the river.

With an involuntary squeal he grabbed onto Tamaki’s shoulder to not fall over. Tamaki carried him to the grass and let him down there.

“Maybe we should dry our clothes”, Sougo suggested, when he noticed his shirt clinging to his body uncomfortably.

“Yeah that’s a good idea”, Tamaki said and without further ado got rid of his own shirt. Sougo quickly looked away, until Tamaki had put his shirt to the ground in an attempt to let it dry more quickly. A hand came into his field of vision, demanding his own shirt.

Sougo moved his hands up to unbutton his shirt, until he realised that he couldn’t use his left hand for it.  
Clumsily he opened one of the buttons, but Tamaki interrupted him.

“Do you need help?”, he sounded guilty again.

“No, I can do this on my own…”, Sougo said and opened another button, enough to just pull the shirt over his head, “See? I’m fine.”

Tamaki took the shirt and laid it out next to his. Sougo felt more grounded already. Maybe the water really did something to them, made them more relaxed or more open with their feelings.

For a while nobody said anything. Sougo closed his eyes, listened to the voice of the grass, singing of the sun and the water. He felt like this whole clearing followed the same rhythm, the song of the grass and the trees following the tact the river set for them.

“Sou-chan”, Tamaki said out of the blue, “After you finish this mission tomorrow… Let’s run away together. We can go to a different place. We’ll find somewhere where we can live without people looking at us strangely. Maybe we can try the capital, I heard that they’re very accepting there, and someone who can talk to plants like you can is something special! I bet you can find work that’s nice and that you’ll like! We can live together too. Let’s do that, yes?”

He sounded so hopeful that Sougo didn’t have the heart to deny this vision of the future. He nodded.

“Are you cold you two? Do you want some blankets?”, Banri called from the tent, where he had been doing whatever. Tamaki jumped up.

“I’ll get us blankets”, he said and with that Sougo heard the tapping of his feet on the grass. In the distance of his mind he noticed that they hadn’t actually continued their hug, but before the thought could actually manifest in his brain Tamaki dropped a blanket, made from the same wool the blanket inside the tent had been, into his lap and sat down next to him.

Sougo kicked his pants off and put them next to his shirt, now, completely naked except for his underwear, he wrapped the blanket around himself.

The warmth of the blanket made Sougo sleepy and he yawned. Then he moved closer to Tamaki and rested his head on his shoulder.

“Don’t you want to go to bed if you’re tired?”, Tamaki asked. He was still considering Sougo as sick, that was clear from his worried tone.

“No, you’re comfortable”, Sougo said and closed his eyes, “I’ll just nap here.”

Tamaki reached up to pat Sougo’s head, “You’re cute Sou-chan. I love that side of you too.”

Sougo hummed, not really knowing what kind of emotion the humming was supposed to convey either.

 

When Sougo woke up the sun hung low behind the trees already, dyeing the clearing in a warm bronze. Tamaki was still sitting next to him, napping as well, and a delicious smell came from the direction of the tent.

Shaking Tamaki’s shoulder woke him up and together they went to the tent, where Banri was cooking.

“You woke up just at the right time. The soup is almost ready.”

He and Tamaki ate like starved wolves and Banri laughed at their antics. It was a nice laughter and Sougo felt comfortable when Tamaki laughed too. He himself didn’t feel like laughing, apparently the river really had some kind of effect on his emotions.  
The soup tasted just as delicious as it smelled and Sougo hadn’t felt as full and satisfied with food in his whole life.

After a delicious meal they went to bed, Tamaki laying close to Sougo. Just before he fell asleep again he felt a hand sneak into his own, tangling their fingers together. Physical affection was so important to Tamaki and Sougo found himself not minding it anymore.

 

The next day Banri woke them up with the smell of a delicious breakfast.  
They ate and said goodbye, then they left the clearing.

Immediately the forest changed. The trees were younger here, fresher and greener, their voices more youthful. It didn’t take long for them to reach the edge of the forest, where it opened to a valley surrounded by mountains.

Banri really had taken them to the heart of the Mortiferum Mountains, in sight of Sougo’s destination. Fairy teleportation magic was amazing, Sougo noted. He would have loved to know more about it, but it was too late for that now.

Across of them in the middle of the valley there was a river, coming from a spring in the mountains.  
It widened on its way down into the valley and at one point it formed a waterfall, white in the middle of the green valley.

“See that waterfall over there?”, Sougo said, pointing into its direction, “This is where I have to go.”

Slowly they came closer to the waterfall, reaching it when the sun was almost at its peak. Carefully stepping into he waters to reach the waterfall Sougo got his pants drenched again, but this time it was no problem. Beyond the hidden entrance there wouldn’t be any sickness, just as there wouldn’t be any health. In the closed off temple time and space didn’t work in the same ways as outside – life and death didn’t matter, they were but a toy in the hands of the goddess inhabiting the temple.

Finding the hidden switch, overgrown by plants, Sougo flipped it. A rumble was heard, and the waterfall parted in the middle, perfectly symmetrical. Sougo was impressed that the elven technology still worked after all these years – it must have been at least a hundred millennia – but it was elven technology after all. It was made to exist for all eternity.

Sougo turned around to Tamaki, who had stopped at the riverbank, staring at the waterfall with his mouth hanging open in awe.

“Do you still want to follow me?”, he asked, “This is the point of no return. After this you will have to accompany me until the final destination.”

He knew that he shouldn’t let Tamaki decide, because he knew the answer to this question already, but he couldn’t bring it over himself to just let Tamaki stand there, disappear in the waterfall only to leave the weredog questioning where he had gone.

As expected Tamaki climbed down the riverbank and came to a halt next to Sougo, “I will always follow you, Sou-chan.”

“Thank you”, Sougo said quietly, his heart beating faster again for a second, “Stay close to me.”

He grabbed Tamaki’s wrist, but the weredog tangled their fingers together instead. Together they entered the waterfall that promptly closed behind them, as soon as their feet touched the dry stone inside.

The magical torches on the wall lit up, revealing the corridor that was carved into the stone. The walls were decorated with reliefs depicting the story behind this secret temple.

“You see Tamaki, this relief shows my father defeating the goddess of a lake that was in the way of where he wanted to build a village”, Sougo explained the first image. A young and majestic elf on a mount just as majestic as him was leading an army against the fearsome figure that seemed to be a distorted image of a woman, as tall as a mountain and incredibly intimidating.

Sougo skipped some images of the fight that lasted approximately a decade. His father had been very adamant about fighting a literal lake. “This one shows him having the goddess in chains and sealing her away in here, not after making a deal with her.”

More pictures followed, of differing quality. Stories of journeys, of differing adventures, all leading up to this point. Sougo stopped in front of each one, reading the elven symbols each symbolizing a name, all chosen by his, _their_ , uncle without a doubt.

When they came across another wall that was void of any reliefs he pulled a seed out of his pocket and began to sing. The tree that grew from the seed, incredibly strong and healthy in this unnatural environment, carved Sougo’s story into the walls.

Sougo’s name on top, his story enveloping like a reverse tree. His roots, incredibly lonely and tiny, only beginning from the day when he had met his uncle first and received the first proof of his identity, of his self, going over his training to the beginning of his journey, like the trunk of the story-tree. When he met Tamaki the branches of the tree began, growing wide, more complicated. The villagers, rain, the meadarlan, Banri – everything was written down in this wall now.

It would be seen again in a thousand years.

“This looks beautiful”, Tamaki said when Sougo stopped singing. The tree crumbled, withered without Sougo giving it strength.

“Thank you”, Sougo said, “It was a spontaneous decision to make it. The others made one too.”

“You mean other pictures here are from people who lived more than a thousand years ago? And they’re your half-siblings?”, Tamaki asked. He sounded excited, “That’s so interesting if you think about it!”

“I’d rather not think about it”, Sougo mumbled, “Come on, we have to bring this journey to an end.”

Taking Tamaki’s hand in his again he followed the path leading them deeper into he ground. The goddess was sealed down here and Sougo felt her powers growing stronger the closer they got to the main hall. It felt like heat was crawling under his skin, and even Tamaki seemed uneasy.

Finally they arrived in the core chamber of the temple. The circular room with the high dome above their heads was simple, but impressive. Tamaki looked around excitedly, while Sougo stepped forward. The mosaic in the floor showed him the way.

Only focusing on the statue of the goddess on her throne, chained to the wall as an eternal prison, he didn’t know the reason why Tamaki next to him startled suddenly.

“Sou-chan!”, Tamaki whispered into his ear hurriedly, “Why are there puppets here? They look scary with their empty glass eyes and those holes!”

Sougo looked into the direction where Tamaki was pointing. Hundreds of bodies were arranged around the central chamber’s outer wall, framing the giant, cathedral-like room in a perfect circle. All of the bodies were perfectly conserved except for one wound that everyone seemed to share, perhaps by the unnatural conditions down here, and all of them had the same white hair and purple eyes, even though they were clearly mixes of different species. He saw some human-elves and orc-elves, even a satyr-elf and a centaur-elf were part of this vast collection of people. They all never passed the age of thirty, Sougo concluded by their young faces. In elven standards they had barely outgrown early childhood.

“These people aren’t puppets, Tamaki-kun”, Sougo said, “They’re my half siblings.”

“So they’re corpses?!”, Tamaki looked horrified at this news.

“I will join them soon”, Sougo said, letting go of Tamaki’s hand and stepping into the middle of the room, marked with a circle of white in black stone, “The deal my father made with the goddess… Once every thousand years her energy has to be replenished, so she doesn’t die – even gods can perish. When she was a lake the inhabitants of the lake would be plenty, so she could drain from them, without any of them noticing. But down here there is nothing she can feast on. She demands a sacrifice of my father’s offspring every thousand years.”

Tamaki stared at him with wide eyes, tears forming in them. “Does this mean…?”

“I’m sorry Tamaki-kun. I shouldn’t have lied to you. In fact I shouldn’t have let you get close to me at all”, Sougo‘s voice was pressed from the tears he was keeping from leaking out. He turned around to Tamaki with a sad smile, “I made this really difficult for the both of us, didn’t I?”

With these words Sougo turned away from the weredog. He didn’t want Tamaki to see his face twist up as tears spilled from his eyes.

With a familiarity that Sougo had been proud of once, the words in the foreign language that was old-elvish began spilling from his mouth.

“Wait Sou-chan!”, Tamaki called, but Sougo was in a trance, speaking the ancient words to wake the goddess, for her to take his life’s energy and kill him. Tamaki’s voice was far, far away, like it was only reaching Sougo through a wall.

“You don’t have to do this! I thought we agreed that we would run away together! It’s not too late for it! Just let the stupid goddess die and forget about it!”

The stone that had held the goddess captive cracked and a woman emerged from inside the statue, as beautiful and dreadful as the lake she had once been.

“Sou-chan, please!”, Tamaki was crying now, Sougo could hear it, but he only focused on the slow steps the goddess took towards him. Her long hair behind her looked like waves, the foam on the blue only making the image clearer. She was completely naked, and her blue skin sent reflections like those of water, or sunlight through leaves, around the dome, harshly reminding Sougo of the happy times he had spent together with Tamaki.

She had almost reached him and was opening her eyes, her iris as dark and deep as the most hidden part of her lake and reached for Sougo, when suddenly something collided with his shoulder and threw him off balance. With a hard thud he landed on the cold floor.

“I said _wait_ Sou-chan!”, Tamaki cried, standing where Sougo had stood before, the white circle around his feet starkly contrasting from the rest of the floor mosaic.

Sougo opened his mouth to say something, shout a warning, _anything_ , but it was too late.

The goddess touched Tamaki, went right through skin and bone and flesh, straight to the core of his being. When she pulled her hand back she held something glowing and white in her hands. The long, blue fingers were glistening, dripping with the blood of the weredog.

Her jaw opened, wider than it would have been possible for any mortal being and swallowed the pure energy whole.

Without paying any more attention to them she made her way back to her throne.

“Tamaki-kun!”, Sougo screamed, his own call echoing in the dome. He rushed forwards, even from his position on the floor, rushed to Tamaki’s side. He caught the collapsing man in his arms.

“Sou-chan”, Tamaki whispered, uncharacteristically quiet. The removal of this strange, magical energy that wasn’t tangible for weak creatures like them, had left a gaping hole in Tamaki’s chest. Blood was gushing out of the wound and dyeing Tamaki’s clothes in red.

The weredog in his arms smiled at him. He was fighting to keep his transformation under control, but it didn’t seem to work. He was halfway transformed, fur, the usual blue colour drenched in blood, creeping up his neck, his teeth growing sharp and dangerous, even his ears had transformed into dog ears already too.  
Sougo felt his vision grow blurry and he blinked quickly to get rid of the tears. He wanted to see Tamaki.

Black nails that were halfway transformed into claws dug into his shoulder when Tamaki panted heavily. The goddess was still consuming him, Sougo could see glowing white streaks of life force being drained from Tamaki’s body.

“Sou-chan”, Tamaki whispered, “Hug me?”

Sougo complied. Of course he did.  
Wrapping his arms around his companion he pulled him to his chest, holding him upright and close to himself, not caring if he got blood on himself. Through layers of clothes he could feel Tamaki’s heart beating frantically. _Alive, still alive._

“Tamaki-kun… You didn’t have to do this...! Why would you… You’re dying for _me_ , for someone like _me_. I’m not worth your life!”

“Sou-chan is worth all the lives”, Tamaki whispered. His voice and heartbeat were growing fainter with the second, “I love Sou-chan so that means he’s worth everything.”

He really was crying now, Tamaki’s weak smile growing blurry before his eyes. He buried his face in Tamaki’s neck. He didn’t smell like Tamaki anymore, only blood, _so much blood_. “I’m sorry”, he chanted, “I’m sorry, so sorry, sorry, sorry, _sorry_...!”

Tamaki raised the hand that was still looking remotely human and tangled his fingers in Sougo’s hair. The gesture meant to be comforting made Sougo panic as he felt the sticky liquid run from Tamaki’s fingers as well, undoubtedly making his hair full of blood too. There was too much blood in this situation, why couldn’t this wound stop bleeding…! “It’s okay Sou-chan, don’t cry”, he said with a last, flat breath, “Just don’t forget me, ‘kay?”

With these words Tamaki’s hand slipped from Sougo’s head and the weredog in his arms squirmed for a last time before becoming still. In death the transformation was undone again, the curse finally lifted from the boy, who had been too young for any of the evils the world had done to him.

The streaks of energy grew thin and thinner until they stopped completely. The goddess on her throne closed her eyes and nodded, satisfied with her meal. The layers of stone around her grew again and she got ready to spend the next millennium in her temple-prison.

Sougo still held the body in his arms and touched his hair. The warmth of the body was fading already. Both of Sougo’s hands were full of Tamaki’s blood.

Sougo screamed, his voice echoing in the dome. The tears running down his face were as hot and thick as the blood on his hands and on the floor and _everywhere_ -

He screamed and screamed, wordless expression of the pain he felt, the fingers of his right hand clutching the slowly drying fabric of Tamaki’s clothes, the left uselessly lying on top. Even his paralyzed hand was full of blood, blood, _blood_!

This was _his fault_ , Tamaki didn’t have to die, this blood on his hands should have been his own, the thing he deserved, like his father always said, Sougo always ruined everything, ruined Tamaki’s _life_. He would never be able to live with this guilt.  
His voice cracked from all his screaming, his crying, and he had to resort to dry sobbing, no tears left in himself.

White strings of energy, similar to those he had just seen being drained from Tamaki, appeared in his field of vision, wiggling over the floor like snakes preying on something. They tugged at Tamaki, threatening to pull him away, to add him to the collection of bodies around the dome.

“Don’t touch him!”, Sougo hissed, stabbing at the goddess’ powers with his dagger.  
To his surprise she actually stopped.

“Child of Soushi”, a voice, deep and soft like thick velvet cushions sounded in his head. Sougo looked into he direction of the statue, not letting go of the weredog in the process. Unmoving the goddess sat, but she spoke right into Sougo’s head.

“Child of Soushi, you are in anguish. What do you have to mourn?”

“You killed the only person alive who meant anything to me”, Sougo spat, “You took away the person who changed my life, even if I only knew him for a short while. You killed him in my place. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”

“The child of Soushi loves this mortal”, the goddess observed, a hint of curiosity in her voice, “The mutual love of those two is stronger than any I have ever seen before.”

Sougo felt like something heavy had hit his chest.  
He never told Tamaki that he loved him too.

“I sense regret from the child of Soushi”, the goddess mumbled, still curious. The trait painfully reminded him of Tamaki.

Sougo’s brain worked faster than it had ever before. He needed to make this right somehow. Tamaki’s death was unfair. It wasn’t meant to be.

“Goddess”, Sougo asked, “Can you give my life energy to the boy you took it from?”

The statue opened her eyes. Stone began crumbling in front of her face and after just a few moments Sougo could see her whole body again.

“Not even a god can bring back the dead”, she said, actually sounding like she regretted that fact, “You are deeply troubled by the death of this person, child of Soushi. I do not enjoy killing, but in this prison I do not have the choice.”

“I know!”, Sougo felt his throat clench when new tears formed in his eyes, “I just want him to live! He didn’t deserve to die.”

While the goddess stayed quiet he looked at the almost peaceful expression on Tamaki’s face.

“I’m going to bury him.”

Silence was the only answer he got.

 

Carrying Tamaki’s body was more difficult than Sougo would have thought. The weredog had been big in life, and even though he lost all of the smiles and loud shouts, the weight of death made him heavy.

Sougo carried him through the corridor, not looking at all the images of his siblings and his father on his way. With his gaze fixed to the floor he could only think of one thing.

He had failed them.

He had failed all people in his life and people beyond his own pathetic life as well.

He had failed his father, he had failed his uncle, he had failed all his half-siblings, he had failed the whole elven village… He had failed _Tamaki_.

Finally breathing fresh air again Sougo couldn’t find it in himself to enjoy it. The wind stung on his skin instead of making him feel freedom and the green of the grass hurt his eyes. The sounds of the waterfall and river were annoying instead of beautiful and Sougo wanted it to stop. The world just wasn’t any good without Tamaki in it.

His throat hurt, and he really didn’t feel like singing, so Sougo decided to dig the grave himself. He didn’t have any tools, so he dug with his only working hand.

To his luck the dirt close to the river was soft and wet. Despite that it still hurt. His hands were full of dried blood and dirt first and then, later, when his nails succumbed to the stress and began breaking, fresh blood, his own this time. Sougo didn’t care though, this was for Tamaki, only for him…

Sougo looked over to the body next to him. If not for the ugly colour of dried blood on his clothes and the gaping hole in his chest, he could have been sleeping.

His vision grew blurry again, but he couldn’t allow himself to cry now, he had this grave to dig.

Digging and digging, for hours, maybe days – no, the sun hadn’t gone down, no day had passed yet – ignoring the pain, he had to finish the grave, he _had to_ -

Sougo felt his head growing dizzy with the exhaustion from digging for so long. He knew that he would probably pass out soon, but he couldn’t stop now – he was only halfway done.

His knees felt weak as he tried to get up from inside the hole, barely deep enough to hide his thighs, not nearly long enough and shaped oddly.

Black dots danced in front of Sougo’s eyes and he felt like he was losing consciousness.

Suddenly a feeling of warmth arose in Sougo’s chest and as he listened, he could hear the grass whispering about something powerful, something this grass, such young blades of grass, had never experienced before.

Water arose in the middle of the hole Sougo had dug over the past hours. It filled the hole to the brim and made Sougo’s pants stick to his skin.  
The perfect control the goddess had over the water – because this was definitely the goddess’ doing – washed the dirt to the side. There were slices of ice seemingly stuck to mobile arms of water that were working like shovels, more efficiently than ten grown men with actual shovels at once. In Sougo’s hazy mind he basically saw the grave dig itself, without any of his doing.

After a few minutes the water disappeared without a trace of ever having been there and left behind a small hill of dug up dirt and a grave of perfect size.

Sougo swallowed, his dry throat protesting against the movement. Then he bowed his head and sighed. “Thank you, goddess,”, he whispered, before finally collapsing into the grave and passing out.

 

Sougo woke up in the early hours of the morning. The walls of earth at his sides were not high enough to keep him trapped inside, but the sight of them as he looked up into the sky that was tinted orange and pink with the rising sun, gave him a feeling of belonging and for a second he contemplated just staying in this grave for all eternity.

Then he remembered what the purpose of the grave was, for whom it was meant, and sat up quickly. His head spun from overexerting himself yesterday, but Sougo still stood up and climbed out of the grave.

Tamaki hadn’t moved from where Sougo had left him – of course he hadn’t.

“I’m sorry Tamaki-kun”, Sougo mumbled and softly patted Tamaki’s hair. His fingers accidentally brushed skin and Sougo pulled his hand back. The coldness of his skin scared Sougo again, but he tried to not remember what it meant.

The corpse didn’t seem to have changed at all since yesterday, probably because of the same reason the corpses of his siblings were still intact as well, something Sougo was incredibly thankful for. If his carelessness had caused something to happen to Tamaki _again_ he would only feel guiltier.

Carefully he picked Tamaki up from the ground and placed him in the grave. He still looked like he was sleeping and Sougo hated it, he _hated_ that he had to look at this. It only reminded him that it wasn’t meant to be like this and that _he_ should be the one to have died.

Gritting his teeth he drank some of the water from the river. If he wanted to make this burial a proper one he would have to sing, if he liked it or not. When his hand touched the surface of the water it became red and brown, from all the blood and the dirt on it.

Grasping some of the seeds his uncle had given to him years ago he planted the flowers into the ground and sung them to life. Quickly the small white blossoms bloomed on the floor in front of him and Sougo plucked them out of the ground. With clumsy movements Sougo tied them together to a circle and climbed into the grave to put the flower crown onto Tamaki’s head. It wasn’t the diadem Sougo had imagined in that river in Tamaki’s embrace, where he had been drunk on the water, but it would have to suffice.

“It fits you so well”, Sougo mumbled and a glimpse of what could have been flashed through his mind.

_Hands clasped together, the sweet scent of flowers around them and a laugh in the air, dancing with the wind. Flower crowns on their heads, soft touches and hugs. More flowers, flowers everywhere._

Quickly he dismissed the thoughts. Nothing like that would be happening. Tamaki was dead, he had to remember that.

Staring at the gaping wound in Tamaki’s chest he felt his heart tighten and more tears in his eyes. He couldn’t just bury him like this. The flower crown made it better already, but something else had to be done for him.

Scattering some more seeds inside the wound Sougo began to sing again. This time he had to start anew some times because the tears made his throat tighten, but finally he had managed to fill Tamaki’s chest with flowers.

“Hey Tamaki-kun”, Sougo said, kneeling above him in the grave, “It hasn’t even been a day, but I miss you already.”

He bent over, lips grazing the cold skin of Tamaki’s forehead.

“I never got to tell you that I felt the same about you”, Sougo’s voice cracked, the tears taking over again, “I didn’t think I would live past yesterday, so I didn’t want to make you hope. But in the end- “

A sob escaped his lips.

“- in the end it was you who didn’t survive.”

Sougo climbed out of the grave and began pushing the dirt the goddess had neatly arranged for him into the hole, all the while crying and rambling to Tamaki.

“I will make up for it, I promise. I will avenge your death. Or at least try. I’ll kill that goddess for you, alright? And if I die in the progress I will see you, wherever you are right now. I know you wouldn’t want me to die, probably, but I can’t do this, not without you. Living was never an option for me and living without you… would just be torture.”

Finally all the dirt was in place again, hiding Tamaki from his sight.

The square of naked dirt was unsightly and Sougo decided to use the last of the seeds he had in his pockets. Scattering them over the grave Sougo listened to their song and found that it was a sad melody, befitting of the occasion.

With the last power of his voice Sougo began to sing.

From the seeds a plant grew, only one actually listening to him. A strong bush, stems and leaves growing with a speed even Sougo had never seen before.  
Soon the first buds began to open up and when the first started to bloom Sougo saw that the flowers were blue roses. The light colour shone in the early morning sun like it was made for Tamaki and Sougo’s song got stuck in his throat from the tears welling up in his eyes.

Three roses had opened up and Sougo looked at them, saw the innocence of the flowers and realised how _unfair_ it was that flowers as beautiful and perfect had to stand in the place where such an unjustified murder had taken place.

“Tamaki-kun…”, Sougo whispered, kneeling next to his grave and wetting the soil with his tears, “Tamaki-kun, until we see each other again, in a better world… Until we see each other again I will not sing ever again.”

 

After staying at the grave for a while, he didn’t know how long exactly, he hadn’t payed any attention to the time, Sougo returned through the corridor, ending up in the dome again. There was no trace of the blood that had still been here when Sougo had left yesterday. The goddess must have cleaned it up.

His dagger unsheathed he walked towards the throne, where the goddess was sitting, her eyes closed as if she was sleeping. He knew that killing a literal god wouldn’t work, but he could try and die trying. At least he would be able to see Tamaki then. Maybe. Sougo had never believed in a life after death, but if it was for Tamaki’s sake he would try to believe in it.

“Say, child of Soushi”, the goddess said, when Sougo raised his dagger to her throat, determined to stab right through the blue skin, not yet concealed by stone again, “How about a deal?”

“A deal?”, Sougo asked, freezing in his position, “Like the deal you made with my father? I can’t offer you my future children, there won’t be any.”

“I’m tired of killing”, the goddess sighed, “Lend me your strength and I will return to my previous resting place. I miss being a lake, I miss being a whole world for flora and fauna to inhabit.”

“What do I get out of it?”, Sougo asked, even though he didn’t really care about any profits. Everything on his mind was revenge for Tamaki.

“The revenge you are hungry for. The death you have always wanted. The reunion your heart is desperately wishing for.”

Sougo felt a breath being caught in his throat. “How?”, he whispered.

“I will kill the person who has brought you so much pain, to release myself from this contract. If you still desire death afterwards I will gladly offer to be your grave”, the goddess said. Her voice was gentle. She didn’t sound like someone who was being threatened with a dagger to their throat. She opened her eyes and directly looked into his, her gaze reaching into the very core of his being, “As for the last part… I can see that the connection between your souls is strong, stronger than even Death herself. It will be there for a long time, possibly forever. I have only heard of a connection as strong as this. It only happens once in a million years, scattered over hundreds of thousands of worlds. You two will definitely meet again, in a different place.”

Sougo inhaled sharply. The exact thing he had been wishing for was in near grasp now. The goddess of the lake was offering it to him, telling him that he could atone for his mistakes.

“If you decide to die I may be able to have a word with Death. I will try and convince her to guide both your souls to a world where you are able to meet and live in peace, different from this world.”

Sougo closed his eyes to think for a few seconds.

“I accept”, he said then, of course he did.

He cast his dagger aside. The noise the steel made when hitting the mosaic cut through the silence of the dome.

“Very well”, the goddess of the lake said, “Then give yourself to me.”

Sougo closed his eyes when a wall of water approached him.

As it engulfed him Sougo noticed that the water was neither warm nor cold. It was everywhere, in his eyes, in his nose, in his ears, in his mouth, in his lungs. Sougo panicked for a moment, but then he realised that he could still breathe. Maybe the water was just an illusion or he had somehow gained the ability to breathe underwater thanks to the goddess, but he could _breathe_ and that meant that he would live until they arrived at their destination.

The goddess, now a transparent form, bigger than before and slightly less humanoid, laughed, the first real sound Sougo heard from her, after only talking inside of his head.

“Finally”, she said, her booming voice making the walls of the dome shake. Some small rocks and dust rained from the ceiling, but Sougo was save inside his cage of water, “Finally I am free!”

With a flowing motion the goddess exited the dome, running along the corridor that had been the entrance to her prison for the past millennia.

“Breathing air again!”, she called while stepping into the river. All the water began flowing into her body instead of into the river itself, and she grew and grew and grew, until the river dried up completely. Her head would have reached the highest tree in the elven village already and the goddess wasn’t satisfied yet.

Rolling over the land like the force of nature she was she left no drop of water in any of the ponds, small lakes or rivers they came across.

Sougo experienced it all first hand, trapped in her chest like a heart. She was draining so much strength from him that he couldn’t move, but she was also keeping him conscious and alive inside her body. He had become her source of strength and without him she would just become the crippled god inside the temple again, robbed of all her power and barely alive.

The goddess moved at an incredible speed, the journey that had taken Sougo weeks was nothing but a few steps for her.  
She even took a detour, a giant one at that, Sougo noticed, when the towers of the capital came into his field of view.

A few knights came outside of the gates when the goddess came closer to the mighty walls. In the light of the slowly setting sun – they had taken the time that had been left of the day to get here – her body of water shone in a dangerous orange.

Sougo heard the worried shouting of the knights, there were three of them, one with blue hair, one who had hair and skin as light as the horse he was riding and one who was a centaur. They seemed to be looking at him and wondering why a person was stuck in the giant humanoid form of water that was surely approaching their city.

Were they contemplating saving him? Sougo didn’t need saving, he only needed the goddess to reach her goal.

The goddess came to a halt in front of the three men. Sougo couldn’t really see them, but when a golden spear flew towards him and missed his face by a few centimetres, only stopped by the goddess herself, the thick wall of water in front of him having saved his life, he noticed, that they weren’t friendly towards him.  
It would make sense to try and kill him, Sougo applauded the quick wit of the knight who had thought of this. He was the goddess’ source of energy, that much should be apparent from the outside.

Still, the capital only caused him to think about Tamaki again, Tamaki saying that they should run away together, to live in the capital, Tamaki being so full of hope and looking forward to their future…

Luckily for Sougo the goddess decided that she had enough and didn’t want to deal with the knights of the kingdom. The goddess turned around, finally into the right direction towards Sougo’s birthplace.

 

They arrived right when the last rays of sunlight had just disappeared behind the horizon.

Back in her territory the goddess’ strength grew even bigger, her head now high enough that Sougo felt he could reach the stars from his place in her chest.

Sougo was still in a kind of trance, but the piercing screams of the elves, as tiny as ants, when they were crushed between masses of water and trees, drowned in their own houses or on the run got through to him. The fluctuating body of the goddess got thick and red with the blood of the elven village that had brought both him and her so much pain.

Quickly her rage had cooled down, the village now empty. All lights in the houses in the trees and around had gone out and the deafening quiet rang in Sougo’s ears like the screams had before – until he spotted something in the highest tree, the one where his father had taken residence.

Noticing Sougo’s discomfort the goddess looked there too. A single light, like a small candle, struggling to stay lit, was still visible between the branches.

“Soushi”, the goddess said. Her voice had become even louder and deeper, now that she had reached her natural size again, “Are you ready to meet your end at the hand of me, the one you have exiled from her own natural environment by sacrificing your very own children? This one hates you. He despises you and everything you have ever done to him. Does that make you happy?”

Sougo was pushed downwards by the water and found himself eye to eye with his father.  
The old elf looked tired. Defeated.

“In the end”, he said, “My own blood did stab me in the back. It’s all the fault of that fool. I should have killed my brother long before you were even born.”

Rage boiled up in Sougo’s chest, the hunch he had had for years finally confirmed. His father _was_ responsible for his uncle’s death, at least in some way.

The goddess reached forward with her transparent hand from water. Almost gently she closed it around Sougo’s father.

“This is the end for you, Soushi”, she said. Sougo watched as his father closed his eyes and stopped struggling. He had finally admitted defeat.

For some reason it didn’t feel good. Seeing his father die didn’t undo the years of abuse he had suffered at his hands. Seeing his father die didn’t bring his uncle or Tamaki back to life. He just felt empty.

“Goddess”, Sougo thought, aware that she would be able to hear and understand him, joined as they were, “Are you ready to become yourself now?”

A loud sigh was the only answer he got. The goddess stretched, grew longer and taller and bigger, until the masses of water were able to fill the entire valley the village had been located in.

Sougo was dropped to the ground a few metres next to the newly forming shore. Coughing and retching, until no water was left in his lungs anymore.

The lake was settling in its old area. All the trees and houses of elves that had been built over the past millennia were submerged in the water. Nothing was left from the village, from the cut into nature, from everything that had brought Sougo pain in his life. Only the surface of the lake was left.

Stars, shyly peaking behind clouds and the moon reflected in the lake, as if they were trying to find out why a mirror for the sky had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Child of Soushi”, the goddess called into his head – for the last time, “Let me know when you are ready.”

Sougo nodded lightly, carefully getting up. He didn’t bother dusting off or trying to dry his clothes. It wouldn’t matter as soon as he was dead.

With a few steps he was standing in the water. His wet clothes protested as the got even more drenched, but Sougo didn’t stop.

Knee-deep now, his movement causing slight waves around him.

Midnight blue clouds on an even darker sky, distorted and wrong, a mirror image of the real world, both more beautiful and more scary than reality. Sougo wanted to wrap himself up in this image, completely cut off from anything else. Nothing but these blues around him, for the rest of his life.

The water reached up to his chest now, the cold not shocking him anymore.

His left hand still didn’t feel anything, neither cold nor warmth, no touch and none of the signals Sougo send ever reached it. Once again a flash of what could have been reached Sougo’s eyes. _  
A construction from wood, grown to fit his hand perfectly, moving with a hum from his lips. Fingers tangled in hair from a head in his lap, stroking the blue locks with a song._

But no, he had sworn that he wouldn’t sing anymore, and Tamaki wasn’t here to sleep in his lap, no matter how much Sougo wished for it.

With a few more steps Sougo was floating in the water. He turned over to look at the night sky, floating on his back. He had a feeling that there was a certain pull of the water, carrying him away from the shore and more into the middle of the lake. Mentally he thanked the goddess and opened his eyes to look at the night sky.

The clouds above him seemed to form the shapes of people, animals, and places. The carriage he had met Tamaki in, sheep, a group of drunkards attacking innocent travellers. Two figures, huddled together to take shelter from the rain.

Sougo’s heart clenched at that very particular memory. If he could choose to relive one of the memories he had with Tamaki it would probably be waking up with him in that tiny hole in the wall, the morning air smelling fresh and the forest singing happily.

The next cloud that rushed along over his head had a shape like a newt, like the meadarlan. His left arm felt very heavy all of the sudden, but to his luck the cloud changed, formed by the wind and showed him the memory of Banri’s kindness, his clearing and the river there. That strange river… Sougo still didn’t know if the water had something magical to it or not, but he would never be able to ask now.

The band that had been holding his ponytail snapped and floated away. Sougo felt his hair spreading out behind him, floating in the water around his head. Without the ponytail he felt much more free, the water finally reaching his scalp properly, caressing it with its cool touch.

Above him in the sky there was the goddess, dancing in the wind.

Painfully Sougo’s heart clenched when he remembered Tamaki.

Tamaki running, playing in his dog form.

Tamaki’s hair, his eyes, his face.

Tamaki’s gesturing when he talked about something, be it his family, his sister, the pack he had lived with or anything else, really – Tamaki could make any topic sound interesting. Through his curious, inexperienced eyes every topic had something interesting about it.

Tamaki hunting for them.

Tamaki smiling, laughing, being happy.

Tamaki’s softness when he looked at Sougo, when he touched him.

Tamaki’s worried expression when he got injured, Tamaki apologizing to him.

Tamaki calling his name, saying it annoyed, or affectionate, or in fear.

_“Sou-chan”_

Tamaki telling him that he loved him.

_“Sou-chan, I love you”_

Sougo closed his eyes, the image of Tamaki dancing in front of him as if he had stared into the sun for too long.

He felt the presence of the drowning trees underneath him, felt the light of the moon that was turning the surface of the water into liquid silver.

“Goddess”, Sougo whispered, “I’m ready. Take me away.”

With a sigh that made the lake shiver something grabbed his ankles and _pulled_ , pulled him downwards into the darkest, deepest parts of the lake, where no sunlight would ever reach. Nobody would ever find him. Nobody would ever take him away from the eternal embrace of the water, of the goddess.

Sougo felt his lungs protesting, different from when the goddess had borrowed his powers.

Now he couldn’t breathe water anymore.

He still did, the icy water entering his lungs. Sougo coughed, the air inside of him disappearing somewhere, leaving for the surface, the surface Sougo would never see again.

Black dots began dancing in front of his closed eyes.

Sougo let his consciousness float away together with the last, smallest of bubbles leaving his body. That final bit of air disappeared and with that Sougo was gone as well.

 

_“I love you, Tamaki-kun.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> There's an epilogue in the next chapter, so please enjoy that too!
> 
> \- Kai


	2. Travels to... Breakfast?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fix-it, basically.
> 
> Well, kind of.
> 
> Have fun.

“Tamaki-kun, hurry up! We‘re going to be late!”

“You’re always in a hurry, why can’t you just be more relaxed, Sou-chan…”

Flashes of long forgotten memories, memories from another life, popped up in Sougo’s head like a déjà vu.  
It wasn’t the first time that this had happened, especially when he was with his partner, but this time was more intense, the smell of wet fur and the sight of that very same fur coated in blood, screaming, crying and a last smile from a boy who had been a stranger but had grown into something more precious, more than a friend and even more than a lover.

Sougo turned around to Tamaki, who was dragging his feet on the way to the train that wouldn’t arrive until in twenty minutes. It was the early hours of the morning, too early for many people to be around, even though some commuters were walking around the station and the small coffee shop inside the station was opened already.

MEZZO”, their two man idol group, was scheduled to be at a filming location in two hours, and Sougo had wanted to be early, to make a good impression. Eager to be punctual he had woken Tamaki up for a train that would arrive almost an hour earlier than they had to be, but now he reconsidered.

This group, MEZZO”, Sougo mused, had saved him. Singing had always been something Sougo enjoyed, but before he had met Tamaki it had never felt _right_. Not even when he and his uncle were singing together he had felt so utterly _completed_ as when he was singing with Tamaki. Something had always been missing, and Sougo had found it in the piano to his forte, in Tamaki.

“You know what”, he said and smiled at the tired teenager, “You’re right. We’ll take the next train, let’s get breakfast together. What do you want to eat, Tamaki-kun?”

When Tamaki’s tired face lit up with a smile and he wrapped his arms around Sougo in a carefree hug, Sougo felt the déjà vu again, of a happier time, like a breath of fresh air after a stuffy room. Memories of a field of silver grass and clear water, of laughter and drenched clothes, laid out on the ground to dry in the sun.

“Thanks Sou-chan! I love you, you’re the best!”

“Yes”, Sougo mumbled, while Tamaki walked towards a bench, undoubtedly to pull out Ousama Pudding from out of nowhere, to eat it for breakfast. Sougo followed him, trailing behind a little.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Leave a comment if you liked it :D
> 
> Please send thoughts, death threats and other things to my [twitter](https://twitter.com/eins__kai) or [tumblr](https://einskai.tumblr.com/)~
> 
> Have a nice day!
> 
> \- Kai


End file.
